


Scream, Aim, Fire

by Beccatdemon13



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Aiden Winchester - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Magic, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, BAMF Women, Bigger Winchester family, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Dean and Sam have a younger brother and sister, Dysfunctional Family, Female Winchesters (Supernatural), Fluff, Hailey Winchester - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Protective Winchesters (Supernatural), Sisterfic, Spanking, Supernatural Elements, Winchester Family (Supernatural) Feels, Winchester Sister, Winsister
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2019-09-07 16:30:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 26
Words: 149,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16857460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beccatdemon13/pseuds/Beccatdemon13
Summary: Life will never be ordinary for us. There are powerful forces out there. Things that can’t be explained. So, we protect those who are lost and afraid. This journey is our burden, our secret, and our destiny.This story has been nominated (twice!) in the Fanatic Fanfics Multifandom Awards. (Thank you!)





	1. Losing Innocence

Everything hurt from the tips of my toenails all the way to my eyeballs, every single nerve ending I had was screaming in pain. Tears leaked from my eyes as I fought my bindings, trying to do anything I could to get away from the pain. I was bound completely tied to a chair with my feet tied together while my hands were behind my back, the handcuffs digging into the fragile skin around my wrist. Blood coated every surface of my skin, sticking my clothes to my body, matting my hair, stinging my eyes and making me lightheaded.

I was far from the motel room that I was sharing with my brother, Dean. We had just finished a hunt in Carson City and were meeting up with our father the next day. The Winchester Family in their entirety knew about the supernatural underworld that lived just beyond normal people’s comprehension. Some would go their whole lives without seeing a monster, or a demon, or a ghost. We weren’t that lucky. I’m Hailey Jade Winchester and I’m the youngest child of Mary and John Winchester. I have brownish blonde hair that at its longest point was slightly past my shoulders. The rest of it was layered, with its shortest length being a few centimeters under my ears. I have bright blue eyes and am five foot four, the shortest of the Winchester children.

I wasn’t the Winchester’s only child I have three older brothers. Dean, the oldest at twenty-eight. Dean was our father’s right hand and had raised my brothers and me nearly singlehandedly. He had spiky dark blond hair and green eyes. He was also the shortest of my brothers at six foot even.

Then there was Sam, who was four years younger at twenty-four years old. He has shaggy brown hair and green eyes. He was six foot two. Finally, there was Aiden Riley Winchester who was twenty-one years old. He had light brown hair and blue eyes. He stood at six foot four,

John Winchester, my father was the one primarily responsible for my brothers and I living the most unlikely of lives. What happened on my six-month birthday set a course for the rest of the family for it was on my six-month birthday that my mother, Mary, met her untimely demise. Officials said it was a short in the ceiling that killed my mother, but my father knew better. He had heard my mother scream in my nursery when he went to check he found her pinned to the ceiling above my crib with a deep cut in her stomach. Before Dad could do anything, the fire started Something had been in our house and it was the same thing that was responsible for our mother’s death. Dad wasn’t sure what it was, only that it was supernatural.

After my mother’s death, Dad needed answers. That search led him to Daniel Elkins, who peeled back the veil between the world we knew and the one that had invaded ours. Elkins taught Dad all he knew about the supernatural, who in turn, taught us. Because Dad was so consumed with vengeance, the chore of raising three children fell to Dean. It was often that I felt bad for Dean. He never got the childhood he deserved but he never complained. In fact, he took everything in stride. He made sure that we had clothes, food to eat, and that we stayed on top of any homework.

We frequently stayed at motels in town or in the rare form in apartments. It seemed as though the older we got the more we moved. We had friends and safe houses in almost every state in the continental United States. Moving around every few months, or even weeks was difficult. But, Sam hated it more than the rest of us fighting with Dad nearly every single day of his adolescence. It created quite a tense environment before he finally left when he was eighteen proclaiming that he had gotten a full ride to Stanford University, you know, the Ivy League one. Instead of reacting positively, Dad shit a brick, which immediately led to the biggest fight Sam and John Winchester ever had. The end result was Sam being slapped across the face with a firm order of, “If you’re going then you stay gone.”

All of us were stunned by that turn of events especially since it was that very man who said that we all needed to stay together. I think that was the reason why dad was so afraid to let Sam go because he’d be all by himself, with no one there to watch his back. My thoughts were confirmed when, three years later, Aiden had the same exact fight with Dad. He too got a full ride to Stanford and had already called Sam. Dad had the same response but once we were on the road again this time minus both Sam and Aiden I could tell that he was slightly more relieved. He was still hurt but at least Sam and Aiden could watch out for each other.

Dean, Sam, Aiden, and I were close. Growing up the way we had the only stable relationships we had were the ones with each other. That kind of isolation creates a completely different kind of sibling relationship. We knew everything about each other. We knew how each reacted under any situation. Sometimes it was annoying having people who knew you better than you knew yourself but more often than not it was nice. Despite that closeness, we were all different. For whatever reason Dean and I were more passionate about hunting, believing that it was in our blood, what we were meant to do. We loved the rush, loved helping people. Sam and Aiden felt that we were forced into this life, that they had to do something else. That was why they left or at least that’s what I assumed.

Once Sam had left and Aiden followed they hadn’t been in contact with either Dean or me. And if they weren’t talking to us, they definitely weren’t talking to Dad. Grudges thy name was Winchester. However, we were a loyal bunch, which is why Dad, Dean, and I frequently stopped by Stanford every few months to make sure that Sam and Aiden were doing okay.

“What do you want?” I groaned.

“This is a warning,” A man growled. “You stay out of our way and maybe I’ll let your brothers live. You, on the other hand, won’t be so lucky.”

“What the fuck did I do to you?” I whined, jerking at the handcuffs and trying to move the chair I was sitting in.

At that, the man turned and smirked at me. He looked like he might be a senior in college. An All-American football player type. He would’ve looked completely normal if his eyes hadn’t been completely black. Great, a demon, my lucky day.

“You kidnap girls a lot?” I asked. “That’s creepy, dude. There’re easier ways to meet people.”

“Shut up,” The demon snapped, slapping me across the face.

“Fuck you,” I hissed.

“You kiss your mother with that mouth?” The demon scoffed. “Oh, I forgot, you don’t.”

“How about I smack the smartass right outta your mouth?”

“Little Hailey Winchester wants to hurt little old me?”

“First chance I get.”

“You Winchester’s certainly are cocky,” The demon mocked. “What do you expect big brother to burst in and save the day? I got a newsflash for you, kiddo. Your four states away from that motel room.”

If I was four states away, god only knows how long I had been gone. Time was a confusing thing to attempt to process when you were disoriented and bleeding profusely. Logically I knew that it must’ve been days, which meant that Dean would be losing his mind.

The demon didn’t like my non-response, slapping me again.

“It doesn’t matter.” I scoffed baring my bloody teeth in a sinister smile. “He’ll find me. He always does.”

“No, he’ll find your body,” The man corrected. “Now, what I want to know is what your brothers would think if they knew what you are. But I guess you’re going to die with that secret.”

“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas,” I whispered.

“Stupid bitch!” The man shouted punching me in the stomach before slapping me across the face. “An exorcism? You must be joking?”

I moaned at the unwelcome flash of pain. I watched as the man came back with a knife getting closer to me with an evil smile on his face. Bastard, there was no way I could defend myself from a knife when I was bound completely. I squashed an involuntary whimper as I squeezed my eyes shut, jumping when I heard a body slam against the opposite wall. I cautiously opened one eye and saw that the man was pinned against the wall. The man struggled to try to free himself, but he couldn't I spat a mouthful of blood and grinned. I didn’t know how exactly the man was pinned to the wall, but I didn’t really care. Without knowing how long he would be pinned I quickly began to rattle off the rest if the exorcism rite, “Omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio, et secta diabolica. Perditionis venenum propinare. Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei, contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine, quem inferi tremunt.”

The man was grunting with the effort the demon was taking to remain in the body.

“Tainted little human,” The man hissed. “You think you’re better than us? You’re one of us.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” I snarled. “I’m not like you and I never will be.”

“You just keep lying to yourself, baby,” The man laughed. “Sooner or later you’ll realize the truth.”

“Ab insidiis diaboli nos, domine. Ut ecclesiam tuam secura tibi facias libertate servire, te rogamus, audi nos. Te rogamus audi dominicos sanctae ecclesiae. Terogamus audi nos!” I yelled ignoring the demon’s statement.

The man fell from the wall to his knees as black smoke poured out of his mouth. The black smoke, which was the form a lower level demon took when it wasn't possessing someone, vanished. I watched the man cautiously just because I didn't know exactly who he was or what he was capable of when in control of his own body. I grimaced for the man I didn't know because when possessed a demon took full control of one's body turning someone into a puppet for anything the demon could come up with.

I slumped forward in the chair, moaning in pain. I didn’t know where I was, but I did know that I needed medical attention and fast. I was pushing my own levels of what I could take as I struggled to keep conscious and coherent instead of letting my body finally get some sleep. I was just about to give in to the temptation of just sleeping, only for a few minutes when the doors to the warehouse burst open. I fought against my bindings cursing the demon for doing such a good job at restraining me, thereby leaving me defenseless for whoever else decided to join the fucking party.

“Hay?” A familiar voice shouted.

“Ads?” I gasped. Whether it was a gasp from confusion, relief, or a mixture of the two, I couldn't be sure. Maybe I was hallucinating, Aiden was at school, but I felt his presence all the same. Was this what dying felt like?

“Hailey!” Aiden shouted coming into view. He ran straight towards me attempting to see what he could do. He seemed at a loss and instead began shouting, “Dean! Sam! I found her!”

“About time you guys showed up,” I whispered, realizing that Aiden was actually standing right in front of me.

“Just take it easy, Hails, everything’s going to be okay,” Aiden promised.

I was vaguely aware of the cuffs coming away from my wrist and the ropes being cut. Thankfully, Aiden had quick reflexes because he caught me as my body went limp as everything went black. Hunting and nearly everything else Dad, my brothers and I did for a living carried some amount of risk. Spirits, poltergeists, and random things and people that just wanted you dead made for a pretty dangerous situation and the only health insurance we had was fake. We avoided hospitals as much as we could. Not only were they expensive but also it was just too risky using fake information. We helped stitch each other up, cleaned out infections, took out bullets, and reset countless dislocated bones. But every so often, there was something that we just couldn’t treat and that was where the hospital came in. That was when the risks were outweighed. Our health trumped any risk and that was what was important.

When I woke up next, I was in a bright, white, obnoxiously clean room, attached to all sorts of wires. Even though I vaguely remembered thinking to myself that, I needed a hospital it didn’t make it any easier to take. To say that I was freaked would be an understatement. I was only eighteen and had only been actively hunting with my brother for a couple of years, three tops. Within that time span, I had only been hospitalized twice before, which meant that this was bad, like really, really bad. What made it worse was the fact that Sam and Aiden were on either side of my bed. Normally having nearly all my brothers here would be an average day but not when those aforementioned brothers and I have been incommunicado for the past two years.

“Ads?” I whispered. “Sammy?”

“Hails!” Aiden smiled.

Before I could react, Aiden launched himself at me crushing me against his chest. I groaned and coughed. I wasn’t aware of the pain moments before but it all came rushing back leaving me gasping for air.

“Hailey?” Sam asked catching the hitch in my breathing. “God, Aiden, take it easy with her.”

“What’s going on?” I asked. “What are you both doing here? Where’s Dean?”

“Dean’s talking to your doctor,” Aiden replied. “We’re here because you’re in the hospital.”

“So?” I asked. “I’ve been hospitalized before this year and so has Dean and neither of you has come running.”

“Hailey, you’ve been in a coma for a month,” Sam replied. “And it took us three weeks to find you.”

“What?” I whispered.

Sam tried to explain more but I waved my hand effectively cutting him off mid-explanation. I didn’t want a play-by-play of what happened and what led me to be hospitalized. I was more concerned about how Sam and Aiden had gotten there and why they were by my bedside and Dean wasn’t. Not that Sam and Aiden didn’t care about me or I wasn’t happy to see them. But it had been two years since I had seen them last and I was a little unclear on the facts that brought them back. After all, I had no facts to back it up; hell, I also had apparently missed the last month entirely.

**Dean’s Point of View**

Maybe it was my fault. I had been giving Hailey more and more space since she had made her first kill a little less than a year ago. Sure, she salted and burned spirits remains, helped with research, and all that but she was the one who actually killed the shapeshifter. Hailey might just be eighteen years old, but she was a fucking natural. So, maybe that clouded my judgment a little. We had just finished a hunt when Hailey vanished from the motel room. When I woke up, she was just gone, leaving all of her stuff, her wallet, and her phone.

I have to admit I panicked, Hailey had been a bit of a flight risk when she was younger. Running away a few times over the years but Dad and I had come down hard on that habit, making it so she wouldn’t have left without telling me. Especially since we were supposed to meet the old man in the morning anyway. My next course of action was to call Dad, but he didn’t answer his phone, which wasn’t like him when we were due to rendezvous.

I tried dad’s cell a few times before deciding to pack up the motel room. Then I started driving, it took me a few miles to realize that I was still heading towards California, we were going to meet Dad out there anyway. But, when I took the exit for Palo Alto. The last time I had physically spoken to my brothers was two years ago, and it hadn’t been a pleasant conversation. They had caught us during one of our check-in trips.

I wasn’t mad at Aiden or Sam for going their own way. But when they severed all connection between us, I was hurt. They didn’t call, they didn’t write, you don’t just abandon your family because you want to go to college. Dad never mentioned either fight and subsequent excommunication from the family. Hailey also got really bitchy whenever Sam or Aiden came up in conversation. All our family issues were on the back burner. I needed help. Hailey vanishing and Dad not answering is phone changed everything.

Aiden and Sam had gotten an apartment two blocks away from the University, which made it easier to get to them because I didn’t have to outsmart security. I scaled up the back of the building using the drainpipe before climbing through the window. I was walking around getting my senses back when a punch was thrown right at my face. I deflected the blow kicking one of my brothers’ back. He came back at me before I swept his legs out and pinned him to the ground.

“Easy there, tiger,” I smirked. I knew it was Sam as soon as he threw the first punch. The figure under me was tall but he was more filled out than Aiden was.

“Dean?” Sam gasped. “You scared the crap out of me.”

“That’s because you’re out of practice,” I scolded. I suddenly found myself kicked off of Sam as he pinned me to the ground. “Or not. Get off me.”

“Dean?” Aiden asked as the light suddenly turned on.

“Hey, Ads,” I smirked as Sam helped me off the floor.

“What’s going on?” Aiden asked. “Where’s Hailey?”

“That’s why I’m here, she’s just gone,” I stated. “Vanished in the middle of the night without a trace.”

“What?” Sam gasped. “Why?”

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “We had just finished a hunt. We were taking off to meet Dad the next day.”

“You weren’t with Dad?” Aiden asked.

“No, Hailey and I work our own gigs, we meet up with Dad every few weeks,” I sighed. “But, Dad missed a check-in as I was driving up. He’s not answering his phone either.”

“Dean?” Sam asked.

“I didn’t think anything of it until I got a voicemail,” I continued. “It was covered in static, but it warned me. It was almost as if he knew I was coming to you guys. He told me we all had to be careful we’re all in danger.”

“Where are you going with this?” Sam asked.

“I need your help.”

“We can’t,” Aiden said. “Dean it’s around midterms.”

“In two years I didn’t bother you, never asked you for a thing,” I hissed. “Right now I need your help."

“Dean,” Sam sighed.

“She could die, Sammy,” I whispered. “You really want your last memory of her to be of you two fighting?”

“That’s not fair,” Sam hissed. “What if she just ran off, Dean? And bring her back to you only for us to come back. Do you want to put her through that again?”

“Would you rather chance never seeing your sister again?” I retorted sharply. “Wow, Sam, you really are a selfish bastard.”

I started to walk towards the front door, apparently having come all this way for nothing.

“Dean wait!” Aiden called. “I’m coming with you.”

I smirked Aiden was easy to guilt trip and now that Sam watched out for Aiden, wherever Aiden went so would Sam.

**Hailey’s Point of View**

I knew that there was a lot that I had missed. A lot can happen in the month, but my brothers weren’t exactly being forthright with information. They were coddling me again, keeping things from me to try to protect me. It was obvious that I had missed something big and it was annoying that I was still out of the loop. I had been awake for a week and they still wouldn’t tell me anything. Not why Sam and Aiden were suddenly here or what the demon did to me or even why I was in a coma for that long. Nope, nothing and any attempt to get those questions answered were dodged completely. It was really starting to piss me off.

“Come on, Hails,” Dean exclaimed. “You’re free to go.”

“They’re letting me go?” I grinned.

“Yup,” Dean responded throwing me some of my clothes.

I caught them and started changing anxious to get out of this hospital. Even though, hospital trips were rare they still made me uncomfortable and to know I was unconscious in one for an entire month just sent shivers down my spine. When we got outside Aiden and Sam were waiting by the impala. I shot a confused glance at Dean, but he pointedly ignored me as he wheeled me to the back seat. Aiden opened the door and before I could move myself, Sam had scooped me up and placed me gently in the back seat. I huffed and crossed my arms I wasn’t two, I could sit down in the impala without anyone’s help.

The life of a hunter was far from routine; we traveled all over the country, going wherever we found a case. As I had mentioned before we had safe houses and friends who would let us crash in almost every state. When that didn’t work there were always motels. Not having a stable home may have been difficult for some, but I didn’t know anything different.

“Back to Stanford then?” I asked after about twenty minutes of silence.

Both Aiden and Sam shifted uncomfortably exchanging glances with Dean. I felt my temper begin to fray. I didn’t like being kept out of the loop. Treating me like I was some kind of baby, just because I was the youngest.

“Well?” I demanded when it seemed that they weren’t going to answer my question. “What the fuck is going on, guys?”

“Hailey,” Dean reprimanded. It more out of reflex than actually scolding me for my language. I was eighteen, after all. In this family, expletives were dropped into sentences fairly liberally unless we were working a case.

“Dean!” I complained. “I deserve to know what’s going on? Where’s Dad? We were supposed to meet up with him weeks ago. He also might not be the most present parent in the world, but he didn’t come to see me when I was in a coma once? That doesn’t strike you as odd?”

“We’re not talking about this now,” Dean said.

“Why not?” I growled. “What are you waiting for?”

“We’re going to Harvelle’s,” Dean stated. “Ellen called.”

“Does Ellen know where Dad is?” I asked.

“She didn’t say.”

“What about Ads and Sammy?” I wondered.

“Hailey Jade,” Dean warned. “We’re not talking about this now. I’m not going to repeat myself. We clear?”

“I get what you’re saying,” I replied, angrily. “But, no, nothing’s clear.”

I ignored the angry look Dean sent my way. At the moment I didn’t care. Dean was angry so was I. I let the subject drop, however. I knew from experience that pushing any further would only get me a cherry red ass and still no answers. So, I may as well quit while I was ahead. But, there was no way this conversation was over.

We had a little over a three hours’ drive until we got the roadhouse. Seeing as the conversation was apparently over before it even started I tried to get some sleep. It seemed as though Dean drove faster than usual to get us to the roadhouse. We all had rooms in the back that were reserved for us whenever we needed them. Ellen, as well as Missouri, stepped into the role of surrogate mother whenever we were stationary. It would be nice to actually get a home cooked meal for once.

“Come on, Hailey, we’re here,” Sam announced.

Aiden got out of the car and ran around to my side opening the door and attempting to help me out. I pushed him lightly backward.

“I got it,” I mumbled.

I heaved myself out of the car wincing as my ribs throbbed at the movement. I had just gotten out of the car when my legs betrayed me, giving out just as I closed the door. Aiden swooped and caught me from falling on my ass.

“You got it, huh?” Aiden teased maneuvering me so that he was carrying me bridal style.

“Just shut up,” I muttered.

Aiden didn’t say another word choosing to follow our brothers who had already grabbed all of the duffel bags from the trunk. They walked into the roadhouse and then Aiden did. I hid my face in Aiden’s chest, blushing as I felt eyes land on me.

“Boys?” Ellen asked. I heard her come from around the bar and then I knew the exact moment she saw me. “Hailey? What the hell happened?”

“A demon kidnapped her,” Dean answered. “She just got out of the hospital.”

“Y’all need a place to stay?” Ellen now sounded even more concerned.

“Yeah,” Sam answered. “Please.”

“Ads, please, put me down,” I requested. “I think I’m okay.”

“Don’t push yourself, Hails,” Aiden responded but placed me gently on my feet.

“Hi, Ellen,” I grinned.

“Oh, baby,” Ellen whispered.

If I had blinked, I would’ve missed Ellen quickly closing the distance between us and hugging me close. I had known Ellen since I was seven years old when my father first met William Anthony Harvelle, Ellen’s husband and Jo’s father.

“I’m fine, Ellen,” I sighed. “I promise.”

Ellen nodded stiffly releasing me from her hold as she went over to Dean. I heard them talking furiously in low voices but the one thing I managed to understand was, “I told you she wasn’t ready for this.”

My stomach leaped into my throat as I fought down a wave of anger. It was no secret that Ellen wasn’t a fan of hunting. It had taken her husband away from her and she fought tooth and nail to keep Jo and me out of it. However, when it became obvious that the only person she actively had power over was Jo, which was why I was currently hunting while Jo sat on the sidelines. Despite Ellen not being my number one fan when it came to hunting, I thought she’d be a tad bit more supportive than that. I mean she had seen how hard I’ve worked for this. Training alongside my brothers, learning Latin to the point where I could recite an exorcism rite from memory, being able to throw a knife further than my brothers. All of that took years of practice and I’d be damned to just sit around with my thumb up my ass.

My father had rules, of course. Dean’s first kill was a werewolf when he was sixteen years old. Before then, he had only burned spirits remains or had done research. It was a rule that we weren’t allowed to hunt until we were at least sixteen. But, being my father’s only daughter carried some consequences. He was harder on me during training but fiercely protective of me, not wanting me to go on a hunt until I was one hundred percent ready. Hell, I learned how to fire a gun at least three years later than my brothers did, having learned when they were nine. I think that was the reason why I was so good with knives; they were the only things my father would let me carry. To say my family was whacked would be the understatement of the century.

“Hey, Ma, the new shipment is in,” I heard the familiar voice of Jo Harvelle call.

“Okay, baby,” Ellen replied.

“Hey, Jo,” I smiled.

“Hailey,” Jo smirked. “It's been a long time. Come on let’s talk before this place picks back up.”

“Yeah, I have a lot to tell you,” I grinned.

“Looks like,” Jo raised an eyebrow leading me towards the back bedrooms. “I hope the other guy looks worse off than you.”

“Well, he’s in hell so I guess I win,” I laughed.

Jo blinked before smiling holding the door to her room open. I walked through it and made myself comfortable on her bed. Jo took her desk chair spinning it around so that she was straddling it. She looked at me critically before we began talking.

“You haven’t missed much,” Jo sighed. “Mom still won’t let me hunt. Ash is being Ash, making some money on the side by putting hunting folders for people together. I made nearly five hundred dollars…”

“Hunters don’t tip that well,” I snorted.

“Yeah, well they can’t play poker either.” Jo grinned. “Anyways, spill. What are Aiden and Sam doing back? What happened to your face? Where’s your Dad?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I snickered. “One question at a time. I don’t know what Sam and Aiden are doing back, I’m assuming Dean went to get them at school when I went missing but they’re still here, which is why I’m at a loss. Dad’s currently MIA. And I’ve been in a coma for a month and no one is filling in the holes of what happened between then and now.”

“A coma?” Jo gasped. “Shit, Hailey!”

“A demon kidnapped me,” I shrugged. “It beat me and carved me up some. I exorcized it and the next thing I know I’m in the hospital and no one is telling me anything. Sometimes I really hate being the youngest.”

“Yeah, I can imagine,” Jo responded. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me too,” sighed. “I just wish I knew what was going on around here. Dean said that your Mom had something for us or she called or something?”

“No, she didn’t,” Jo answered. “At least I don’t think so. We haven’t gotten wind of anything and John hasn’t been in at all.”

“See?” I demanded. “That’s what I mean. There is something big going down and once again you and I aren’t being included."


	2. Waking the Demon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter's One and Two have been rewritten. Two has new scenes, one has been almost completely rewritten.

Recovering from any injury sucked. Recovering from being in a coma sucked so much worse. I had to get used to walking again and breathing on my own because Aiden had a let it slip that I was on a ventilator for a few weeks until my lungs were strong enough to breathe without assistance. My brothers still weren’t being forthcoming with any information and I was getting desperate. They’d kill me but if they didn’t tell me, what was going on I was going to find someone who could.

Ash Teller was another person who lived in the Roadhouse. I didn’t know much about his past, but he had been there as long as I could remember. Ash was smart, not that you’d believe me with him rocking the mullet. Ash got into MIT but was thrown out because he got into a fight with someone. He didn’t really talk about it. He was one of the best hackers I had met, even surpassing Aiden in skill level. And since Aiden was keeping as quiet as our older brothers in refusing to answer my questions, Ash was my only hope.

“Ash!” I shouted knocking on his door.

“Little Winchester,” Ash greeted. “What brings you to my door at two in the morning?”

“I need to talk to you,” I responded.

“Well, then, I guess I need to put on pants,” Ash replied.

I rolled my eyes before shutting them to prevent me from seeing anything that I didn’t want to see. Two minutes later Ash joined me out of the main bar carrying his computer, the one that he built by himself, under his arm.

“What do you need to know?” Ash asked.

“Where’s my father?” I asked. “And what aren’t my brothers telling me? I know you know, Ash.”

“God, Hailey,” Ash sighed. “I can’t tell you any of that.”

“Please, Ash,” I whispered. “I need to know. They can’t keep stuff like that from me. What’s bad enough to keep Sam and Aiden from going back to school?”

“Hails,” Ash groaned. “Your brothers would flay the skin off my bones.”

“They will never find out you told me,” I pleaded. “Come on, Ash, something big happened this is driving me crazy!”

Ash sighed looking anywhere but at me. I could tell by his reluctance that it was something huge. Either that or he was remembering the last time he told me something that my brothers were keeping from me. That didn’t end well for anyone. Luckily, Ash didn’t see my wince otherwise, he probably would’ve backed out immediately.

“Hailey, your father’s missing,” Ash stated. “None of his old phones worked. No contact has seen him in weeks. But, Dean got a message from him while you were in a coma saying that you were all in danger and to be careful. That was the last anyone heard from him. He’s fallen off the grid completely.”

“Wonderful,” I muttered, “So, Sam and Aiden came back to look for Dad?”

“That’s what they told me,” Ash shrugged. “There’s something else but they’re not talking about it.”

“Thanks, Ash, you rock,” I smiled

“Yeah, and if you confront them they’ll never find me,” Ash groaned.

“Chill out,” I replied. “They’ll never know.”

Ash shook his head grumbling under his breath as he made his way into the kitchen. I got up and stumbled slightly as my body fought a wave of dizziness. I limped my way over towards the hallway where all the bedrooms were when I was suddenly pinned against the wall. I could no longer hear Ash banging around in the kitchen or the comforting snores of my brothers. All was quiet, and it wasn’t a good kind of quiet either. It suddenly felt as if someone was trying to rip out my insides and my knees buckled under the onslaught.

“Hailey,” A dark voice hissed. “You’re nearly there.”

Just as quickly as the pain began, it stopped, leaving me panting. I crawled to the nearest support and heaved myself into a standing position. I had been hearing that same voice enough in the past couple of months to know that if I was nearly anything, it definitely wasn’t near to anything good.

“Hails, what are you doing up?” Aiden asked coming from the hallway and looking at me curiously. “You know Dean said you need as much sleep as you can get.”

“I was in a coma for a month,” I grumbled. “I’m just fine on sleep.”

“Hailey,” Aiden reproached softly.

“I couldn’t sleep, Ads,” I sighed.

“Why not?” Aiden questioned. “Are you having nightmares again?”

“No,” I retorted.

Aiden gave me a look that said in no uncertain terms that he didn’t believe me, but I really couldn’t care less. Things had been somewhat shaky ever since Sam and Aiden rejoined us, unbeknownst to me at the time, looking for our father. But still it had been a very long time and Dean and I functioned in a completely different synchronicity then when it was the four of us. It would take longer for things to get back to the way things used to be, there was some bad blood that existed, and we all had to get adjusted to each other again, which wasn’t going to be easy if people kept secrets. Granted, I really couldn’t be talking I have yet to be forthright with the fact that I had been hearing the same creepy voice for the past few months, and I had thrown a demon across the room without lifting a finger. We all were guilty at trying to protect one another. But, I couldn’t help but think that my secret was a lot worse than anything my brothers could hide.

“Hailey, you need to get some sleep,” Aiden muttered.

“I’m fine,” I responded.

“Then do it for self-preservation,” Aiden replied. “Dean’ll be pissed if he finds you up and moving when everyone’s asleep.

I frowned before allowing Aiden to lead me back to my room. Dean always got a tad hyper when one of us was injured. He was worse than some people’s parent when it came to hovering. Dean was especially nuts during recuperation, which was what I supposedly doing. Us being stuck here wasn’t going to find Dad any faster and the longer we stayed here the colder the trail would get.

The next morning was when things exploded. I had only slept maybe another hour and as I limped into the main room things just felt weird. I spotted my brothers sitting around a table and none of them looked particularly happy.

"Is it time to finish that conversation yet?" I demanded to drop into the last remaining seat at the table.

Dean set his jaw while Aiden and Sam did their best to avoid my gaze. If this was how it was going to be, I was going to lose my temper sooner rather than later.

"All right," I scoffed. "I'll start. Dad's missing and no one's heard from him in weeks. All of his phones are disconnected. The only one that's not, drops Dean's phone. He never showed up at my hospital room. Didn't come and read Dean and I the riot act for missing a rendezvous. Does that sound like Dad?"

"Hailey, you're still healing," Dean stated, ignoring my statement. 

"I'm aware of that, D," I grumbled. "I'll tell you right now that I'm done being kept in the dark like some dumb kid."

"No one said you were," Dean replied.

I could tell that there was more than Dean wanted to say but he was stopping himself. Knowing that Dean Winchester was far more stubborn than me. I moved on to easier marks.

"When are you to going back to school?" I asked, eyeing Sam and Aiden. "Aren't you both missing midterms? I might not have been the best student in the world, but I remember those being important. So, don't you have to go back? Sooner rather than later?

“No,” Aiden whispered.

“Why not?” I replied.

“It’s not important,” Sam sighed.

"Did Sammy Winchester just say going to school isn't important?" I scoffed. "Who are you and what've you done with my brother?"

"Hilarious, Hails," Sam frowned.

I knew that Sam wouldn't be any easier to crack than our older brother. Aiden, on the other hand, didn't keep secrets from me easily. I got up from my seat, grabbed Aiden's hand and dragged him away from our brothers. Of course, I knew that Aiden was humoring me to a point. I was too weak to move him bodily. A fact that irked me to no end. When we were a suitable distance away I stopped and put my hands on my hips.

"Damn it, Hailey," Aiden frowned.

"Stop keeping secrets," I pleaded. "Tell me what's going on."

Aiden shot a quick glance back towards Dean and Sam. They weren't in any hurry to try to break us up. which seemed to be as far as an invitation that would be extended.

"Before Dad dropped off the grid, he left Dean a message," Aiden began. "It had feedback all over it but Dean cleaned it up. He said that we were all in danger. That we had to stay together."

"So, now you and Sam decide to listen to, Dad?" I scoffed. "Christo."

"Bite me, Hay," Aiden grumbled. "We came with Dean to help find you. The night we left our apartment burned to the ground. The source of the fire? Our apartment. There was sulfur all over the complex. No one made it out. If Dean hadn't gotten us-"

"Holy shit," I gasped, swaying on my feet.

"Hay?" Aiden asked before I pitched forward. He lunged catching me.

"Hailey!" Dean and Sam called.

There was a rush of movement as Dean and Sam came rushing over as Aiden went to his knees, laying me gently on the floor. It took a moment to regain my wit's about me before I tried to get up.

"Easy, Hails," Dean cautioned. "You see why we didn't want to tell you?"

"I'm okay," I whispered. "Dean, if Dad's off the grid we have to find him. He could be in danger too."

"You're not ready," Dean contradicted.

"So what?" I scoffed. 

“You need to get better,” Aiden said.

“I’m fine,” I snapped.

“You’re still limping,” Sam stated.

 “The longer we wait, the colder Dad's trail gets," I explained. "We don't have time to wait for me to get better.”

“Hailey, no,” Dean snapped.

“Dean, Dad’s missing you said it yourself he said we’re all in danger that includes him. We’re all together and he’s all alone. If someone happens to Dad because of me-”

I trailed off not willing to even complete my sentence. If Dad was in trouble and we could've helped him, but didn't because of me. I'd never forgive myself. Dean, Sam, and Aiden looked at each other considering what I had just said. They seemed to come to an understanding fairly quickly.

“We’ll leave tomorrow,” Dean said. “But you’re not hunting until you’re one hundred percent. Do you understand me?”

“Yeah,” I shrugged.

I grinned in triumph before getting back to my feet and moving towards the kitchen to get me something to eat. I grabbed an orange and went to sit at the bar. It was still pretty quiet in the Roadhouse, people won’t really start showing up until three or four and then they wouldn’t leave until one in the morning. The roadhouse was a haven for hunters, Ash found jobs for people, Ellen kept the police scanner running at all hours so that we’d have an idea of what was going on at all times. It kept everyone feeling safe and sound, not that the police ever raided the Roadhouse, they just thought it was a bar.

I was on my computer researching jobs when the front door opened. I glanced toward the door and was surprised to see someone I didn’t know coming into the building. The first thing I noticed was that he was tall, taller than Sammy even. As he glanced around the room, I saw that he had green eyes and shaggy brown hair. He looked to be about my age maybe a little bit older. But the weirdest thing was the fact that I felt like I had met him before even though this was the first time I had seen him.

Our eyes looked and the hair on my arms stood up on end. He smirked, as I looked surprised then winked at me. Where had I seen this guy before? Ellen came out of the back room holding a box of beer and then glanced at the guy.

“Trevor, good to see you,” Ellen greeted.

“Trevor?” I thought. “Trevor Moore.”

Now I was officially freaked out as I watched Trevor carry on a conversation with Ellen because up until now I thought that Trevor was only a figment of my dreams, something I made up while I was in a coma. As I caught Trevor’s eyes once more, I couldn’t tell if I had imagined that I had seen him before or the feeling I felt was true: that we knew each other a lot better than I could ever really fathom.

“What’s with you?” Aiden asked. “Looks like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Maybe,” I mumbled.

I didn’t catch Aiden’s bewildered look as I wandered out of the roadhouse going towards the cellar where I knew that Jo would be. She had been taking inventory since we had gotten here, and she was nearly always in that cellar.

“Hailey,” A voice called. It wasn’t any of my brothers, but I recognized it all the same.

“Trevor,” I whispered.

“You do remember?” Trevor smiled.

“No,” I responded. “I just have déjà vu.”

“Give it time,” Trevor shrugged. “You’ll figure it all out eventually.”

I gave him a weird look, but he seemed unperturbed turning around and going back in the direction, he had come from. I moved towards the cellar running down the stairs.

“Jo!” I shouted.

“Shit,” She yelped jumping away from an open beer. “You scared the crap out of me, Winchester.”

I smiled with a knowing look on my face.

“Dipping into the stock again?” I laughed.

“Yeah,” Joe shrugged. “I’ve been working for days and I don’t get paid for this.”

“I understand,” I replied. “Just teasing.”

“What’s up?” Jo asked. “You seem freaked.”

“Do you know anything about Trevor Moore?” I asked.

“Trevor’s a hunter,” Jo responded. “Same as you. Why?”

“Nothing there is something off about him that’s all,” I muttered.

“Are you feeling okay?” Jo asked. “Do you want me to get Dean?”

“I’m fine, Jo,” I grumbled. “I just…I don’t know. Weird stuff is starting to happen, like weirder than normal.”

“Wow,” Jo said.

I sighed and slumped against the wall. Normal to me wasn’t really normal and it wasn’t often that I had been thrown for a loop. But if ever I had been thrown, it was now. My father was suddenly missing. The kid that I had dreamt about when I was comatose was suddenly flesh and blood and I had been hearing things. Well, not things just something saying my name. I wished that I had someone who understood but I knew there wasn’t anyone who would. Dean never trusted people that were psychics. He thought they were freaks and maybe that was what I was a freak who could move people without lifting a finger.

“That’s not the only thing you can do, kiddo,” The voice hissed. This time the voice sounded less sinister and more amused, perhaps laughing at my naiveté.

“Hails?” Jo asked.

For the second time today, I fainted. Luckily Jo had quick reflexes and caught me before I hit the floor.

“Hailey?” Jo asked laying me down gently. “Hails? Hailey? Come on, wake up!” She tapped my face, trying to get me to wake up. She squeaked nervously before running out of the cellar screaming, “DEAN!”

+

_“Where the hell am I?” I groaned._

_“You’re not in Kansas anymore,” A voice laughed. “I love how that works literally and figuratively, Hailey.”_

_“Who are you?” I growled straightening up quickly._

_“That’s not important,” The man replied. “But if you must know my name is Azazel.”_

_“Where am I?” I growled._

_“You’re still in Nebraska, you’re just taking a little nap,” Azazel shrugged._

_“You!” I shouted. “You’re the voice who has been taunting me for months!”_

_“Oh, not just you, sweetheart,” Azazel laughed. “I have others like you as well.”_

_“You know what I am,” I whispered._

_“I made you into what you are,” Azazel smiled. “You and all the children like you.”_

_“What do you mean, like me?” I demanded._

_“Special,” Azazel replied. “Gifted, talented. Take your pick, kiddo.”_

_“Let me go,” I ordered._

_“No, can do, sweetheart,” Azazel scolded._

_“What do you want?” I hissed._

_“It’s not what I want, it’s what I need,” Azazel corrected._

_That was when he finally came into my line of sight. I choked on a gasp as I took in his appearance. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary except for his glowing yellow eyes._

_“You’re a demon,” I stated._

_And not like any demon, I had ever seen. Most demons had black eyes but as I talked more and more to the thing that called itself Azazel, I had the sudden realization that the demons my family and I had been fighting had been at a lower level then to whatever he was._

_“I’m guessing you’re the observant one,” Azazel rolled his eyes._

_“What is it that you need?” I asked._

_“Oh, I can’t give away the big punch line,” Azazel responded. “But you’ll know when the time is right. At least one of the Winchesters will.”_

_“What are you talking about?” I demanded._

_“You and Sam have a lot more in common than you think,” Azazel stated._

_“Leave him alone!” I shouted._

_“Oh, naïve little Winchester,” Azazel laughed. “He was my favorite way before you were even in the picture.”_

_“You fucking bastard,” I growled._

_“Temper, temper, Hailey, you need to be patient,” Azazel suggested. “You will understand everything soon enough.”_

“Hailey!” Dean shouted. “Hailey! Wake up, Hay!”

“Stop shouting at me,” I slurred.

“Never scare me like that again,” Jo snapped.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

“Come on, you’re going to bed, now,” Dean ordered.

“Dean, it’s in the middle of the afternoon,” I mumbled.

“It wasn’t a suggestion,” Dean snapped.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. If it had only been one fainting spell, I may have been able to talk my way out of it. But because it was the second time authoritative mother-henning Dean would join the party. There was no arguing with him when he got that way either. It would now take forever to convince Dean that I was ready to start hunting again. Right now, I knew it would be a waste of breath, literally. I couldn’t run very well, and I still walked with a limp. It was so frustrating not being able to do anything that I was used to doing.

Sam and Aiden helped me up and helped me get up I grunted as my ribs protested. Sam jerked to a stop green eyes suddenly piercing into my own.

“Hay?” Sam whispered. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I sighed.

Sam shot a look at Aiden, as I kept looking Sam. Demons lied to mess with you but if they knew that the truth would be worse, well then, they’d say every truthful thing they knew. Did that mean that Sam was having the same problems I was? I felt Sam and Aiden’s grip on my biceps as they literally half-carried me to my room.

“Hails, sleep,” Aiden pleaded.

I rolled my eyes and laid down on my bed waiting until they had closed the door for me to get up. I was walking towards my laptop when a hand suddenly wrapped around my mouth as an arm swung around my waist pulling flush against a warm, muscled body.

“Don’t scream,” The voice cautioned.

“Trevor?” I gasped when he finally removed his hand. I spun in his arm and shoved him back so that he flopped on my bed.

“Wow,” Trevor smirked. “Feisty.”

“What are you doing here?” I demanded.

“Shhh,” Trevor pleaded. “I need to talk to you.”

“Well?” I muttered. “First you start asking me if I remember shit. Then you suddenly appear in my fucking room. What is it that you want?”

“I know that Azazel talked to you,” Trevor said.

“What?” I gasped.

Before Trevor could blink, I had pulled a gun on him and turned the safety off.

“Jesus!” Trevor grunted. “What the hell?”

“What are you?” I hissed. “Demon? Christo!”

Trevor just looked at me. Damn, he wasn’t a demon. I sighed and lowered my gun. And then I remembered Azazel’s words.

_“I made you into what you are,” Azazel smiled. “You and all the children like you.”_

“You!” I gasped. “You and I we’re…”

“One in the same,” Trevor completed. “Except you are apparently telekinetic. I’m pyrokinetic. From everything I’ve gathered we all get different abilities.”

“So, you’re the human torch?” I asked.

“Naw, he’s cockier,” Trevor smirked. “I back it up.”

Trevor had gotten up off my bed and had backed me against the wall. The height differences were obvious the closer Trevor got. I tried to reflect him back, but it didn’t work.

“The abilities normally don’t work on each other,” Trevor smirked. “Trying to keep me away, Hails?”

“I’m not afraid of you,” I scoffed.

“Then prove it,” Trevor taunted.

I smirked before wrapping my arms around his neck effectively pulling him down to my height and kissing him firmly on the lips. I could feel him smiling through the kiss as his hand slipped around my back and traveling down until I felt his hands grab my ass as my legs wrapped around his waist. He and pull me up so that we were at level. I unwrapped one of my arms and ran my hands through his hair. He broke the connection between us first. I gasped for air and then moaned as Trevor started kissing the sensitive’s skin at the base of my neck. I pushed him away gently and he let me go so that I was standing on my own two feet again. I sighed as Trevor smiled.

“What’s wrong?” Trevor asked.

“I just met you a few hours ago,” I responded. “I was raised better than that.”

“We’ve actually known each other for roughly about a month.” Trevor corrected.

“So, all those conversations we had they were all real?” I questioned.

“Yes,” Trevor stated. “Every single thing we talked about it was all true.”

“Then you’re smooth,” I teased.

“What are you talking about, Winchester?” Trevor asked.

“Asking out a girl that’s stuck in a coma?” I scoffed. “Smooth.”

“That demon trashed you,” Trevor whistled. “That’s the trigger. Your abilities were dormant until you nearly died and then they protected you. Before it had only happened randomly when one emotion was too strong.”

“How’d you find me?” I asked.

“I worked at the hospital where you were taken in,” Trevor shrugged. “I felt an instant connection to you and that night I was sucked into one of your dreams.”

“I know, I remember,” I sighed. “I remember from what you told me about Azazel, our abilities, our first date.”

“We were still dating when you woke up,” Trevor smiled. Trevor leaned down and kissed me softly.

“You have to get outta here,” I replied. “My brothers find you in here they’ll kill you.”

“They are rather protective,” Trevor laughed.

“I know,” I rolled my eyes.

“You’re going to have to tell them about everything eventually, Hails,” Trevor whispered.

“No, Trevor you don’t understand,” I replied. “Dean especially doesn’t see shades of gray you’re either human or you’re not, and this what we can do, it’s not human.”

“Hailey,” Trevor whispered.

“I can’t,” I pleaded. “Trevor, I don’t want him to look at me like I’m some sort of freak.”

“It’s all going to be okay,” Trevor soothed wrapping his long arms around me. “I swear.”

“Yeah,” I muttered.

Somehow, I knew that there was something bad about to go down and nothing was going to be okay. Hell, nothing was okay. I didn’t know where my father was, my brothers and I were keeping secrets and, oh, right, I forgot, I’m some sort of psychic freak! Yeah, everything was just fucking peachy.

“You need to get some rest,” Trevor announced.

“What?” I groaned. “Come on, Trev, not you too.”

“Your abilities will be sporadic if you don’t get enough rest,” Trevor stated. “And if you want this to be secret then I’d be making sure that you do.”

“Fine,” I sighed.

“I’ll see you later, Hails,” Trevor laughed kissing me one more time before leaving through my window.

I grinned to myself as I settled into bed. I loved dating another hunter because there were no secrets. That and he knew how to defend himself against demons and other supernatural evil. And even regular people, like my brothers once they found out that I had a boyfriend. He also knew how to climb in and out of windows.

As I fell back asleep, I realized that tomorrow we’d be leaving the roadhouse to look for my father. I sighed realizing that John Winchester was a legend unto himself. If he didn’t want to be found, which he obviously didn’t then he wouldn’t at least in most circumstances. I’d like to think the odds were even if the protégés were searching for the master.

The next morning came way earlier than I expected with Dean pounding on my door saying we were leaving in thirty. I muttered under my breath when I saw that it was only five thirty in the morning. God, what the hell was wrong with them? I packed up and walked outside dropping my duffel bag in the back of impala.

I looked around and saw that Trevor was coming out of one of the trailers that Ellen and Jo kept on their property. He moved quickly swooping me off my feet and kissing me firmly. I kissed him back with equal passion. He grinned setting me back on my feet.

“You guys heading out?” Trevor asked.

“Yeah, looking for our Dad,” I answered.

“He’ll show up,” Trevor stated.

“I know, he can’t hide forever especially from his freaking kids,” I grumbled.

“Hey, you call, and I’ll be there,” Trevor whispered kissing me again. “I promise.”

“Who are you?” Dean shouted as he, Sam, and Aiden came out of the bar.

“I’m Trevor Moore,” Trevor introduced himself shaking each one of my brothers’ hand. “I’m a hunter too.”

“What were you and my sister talking about?” Dean demanded.

“Dean!” I scolded.

“I was just asking her a question,” Trevor shrugged.

“That better be all you were doing,” Aiden muttered looking Trevor up and down.

“Aiden!” I snapped.

Aiden glared at me and I rolled my eyes.

“Nice to meet you, Trevor,” I said sliding into the back seat of the car. “Guys let’s go!”

I heard Dean mutter something to Sam and Aiden as they all got into the car. Dean floored the engine and we gunned it out of the Roadhouse’s parking lot. I sent a quick text to Trevor apologizing for my brother’s behavior. He responded nearly instantly saying that he was a big boy and he could take care of himself.

I sighed and opened the computer. I had no idea where we were going but it was going to be interesting to see how this particular road trip would be. I used to spending hours sitting in the Impala. Sam and Aiden were no longer used to it, which meant that it would take them a while to get back into the swing of things.

I tried hacking into every file my Dad owned. Fake credit cards, real bank accounts, fake insurance, license plates, the make of his truck the whole nine yards but there weren’t any flags. I growled under my breath. Finding Dad would be like finding a needle in a hay country, next to impossible.

 


	3. Disaster’s in the Air

It had been nearly two months since my coma and Dad’s disappearance and nothing had happened. I was back to normal, but Dad was still missing. Aiden and Sam were getting back into the swing of things. It was obvious that Dean had no idea where to look. When Dad fell off the grid, he had already been off the grid. He had a hunt in Jericho, California that he finished and then he disappeared. He was supposed to meet someone in Nevada two days after the hunt, but he never showed up.

All I know is that I was going insane. I may have thought that I was one hundred percent, but I wasn’t the one who decided whether or not I can actually start hunting again. That would be Dean’s jurisdiction and he was being a stubborn bastard about it.

“Hey!” Dean shouted. “You paying attention?”

“To what?” I grumbled. “You saying the same exact thing you’ve said before you three ditch me? No, not really.”

“Hey, watch the attitude, Hailey,” Dean warned.

“I already know the drill, lock the door, close the blinds, don’t answer the door, salt the room,” I rolled my eyes. “I know that despite my assurances that I’m fine you’re still going to take the two people who are out of their element.”

“You were in a coma!” Aiden snapped. “We just went to college.”

“We kept up with training,” Sam shrugged.

“Yeah?” I scoffed. “I was out for a month! I’m fine. You two were gone for years!”

“This isn’t up for discussion, Hails,” Sam snapped.

I crossed my arms and flopped down on my bed. Aiden, Sam, and Dean were all carrying duffel bags and once again, I was getting stuck in a hotel for however long it took them to finish the monster of the week.

“Cut the sullen teenager act, Hails,” Dean responded.

“I’m going stir crazy,” I mumbled.

“Soon is what I told you,” Dean said. “You’ll be hunting again soon.”

Before Dean and I could argue further Sam had opened the front door and said that they had a schedule to keep. I glared at the door as it shut firmly behind me. Not even a half hour went by before I heard knocking on the motel room door. I looked through the peephole and then flung open the door dragging the person waiting on the outside inside. He didn’t even get to respond before I shoved him back down on the bed and climbed on top of him.

“Well, hello to you too, Hails,” Trevor laughed.

“You’ve been following us since we left Nevada,” I accused.

“Not much gets by you,” Trevor smirked.

“You’re lucky my brothers didn’t notice either,” I responded. “They don’t take kindly to being followed.”

“Yet it’s perfectly okay to ditch you in a hotel room?” Trevor growled.

“I’m perfectly fine here,” I sighed. “I’m just going stir crazy. I’m fine again. No limp, no nothing and Dean refuses to let me come.”

“He doesn’t want you disappearing again,” Trevor shrugged. “Can’t say I blame him.”

“Trevor,” I groaned.

“He was absolutely frantic when you were gone,” Trevor replied. “And then the message your father left didn’t really soothe his nerves.”

“I don’t want to hear about this, Trev,” I warned.

“Hails,” Trevor grumbled getting up after me. “I don’t want to pick a fight.”

“Yeah?” I scoffed.

“Yeah,” Trevor sighed putting a hand on either side of my head so that I was effectively trapped in a corner. “You don’t see the dynamic your family has. Dean’s the protector, you’re the baby, Sam is the lawyer, and Aiden’s a genius. When one of you is gone it throws the three of you out of whack. And when Sam and Aiden went to school it left a hole so big that none of you could deal. Just when Dean thought he was doing better a demon takes you and he has no idea where you are. He goes and gets Aiden and Sam under your father’s orders thereby giving him enough time to fall off the grid. You might be the glue that keeps this family running more often than not but it was your father who started all of you on this track. You’re bound by it whether you like it or not.”

“How can you know so much?” I asked.

“When one can get sucked into dreams it becomes very easy to know nearly everything there is to know about that person,” Trevor responded. “And it’s really easy to see the family dynamic when the four of you are together.”

“You always dream walk into girl’s dreams?” I questioned.

“Not really,” Trevor answered. “It isn’t often that I get pulled into a dream with such ferocious that I was pulled into yours. And before you ask of course I like you, Hailey Winchester.”

I smiled softly before reaching up to kiss him. Trevor groaned removing his arms from the wall and picking me up so that we were nearly equal in height. One of my hands wrapped itself into his hair while the other rested on his shoulder feeling the solid strength there. I felt Trevor’s hands move to cradle my ass as my legs wrapped around his muscled torso. My back was leaning against the wall as he kept us vertical. When the need for oxygen arose, I pulled away, moaning as Trevor began to kiss his way from the corner of my jaw down to my neck. Suddenly he bit down hard at the base of my neck before licking at the bite.

“Trevor, I need…” I panted trailing off as Trevor moved us from the wall towards the bed.

He laid me down gently before pulling off his sweatshirt. We locked eyes as I pulled off my tank top. I dropped it to the ground as Trevor moved to the bed and kissing me passionately. His tongue slipped into my mouth as I moaned. I felt his hand creep down and unbutton the top of my jeans. The rough denim slid down my legs along with my panties. He pulled them off my legs completely as I looked at him. Trevor pushed some of his hair back as I got up on my knees. I wrapped my fingers around the waistband of his boxers. I pulled them down slowly and he kicked them off he grabbed a condom from his wallet and quickly put it on before dropping back onto the bed. He climbed in between my legs and I felt him poised at my entrance. I pulled him down on top of me kissing him hard enough to bruise as he eased in for the first time. I gasped at the new sensations as my legs wrapped around his waist again.

An hour later, I was wrapped up in Trevor’s arms leaning against his chest. I listened to the steady beating of his heart, and for once, I wasn’t bored out of my mind. I hadn’t seen Trevor in weeks and I don’t know how he had managed to track us down.

“You know so much about me and I feel like I don’t know anything about you,” I whispered.

“What do you want to know?” Trevor asked.

“Everything,” I responded. “You seem to know everything there is to know about me and my family.”

“Well, I was born in Montclair, New Jersey. I’m an only child and the same demon killed my mother. I was already born into a hunting family, but the demon is powerful, way more powerful than my father realized. He blamed himself for my mother’s death. He died seven years ago trying to summon the fucking thing.”

“You know it’s a demon?” I asked.

“Yes, Azazel is a demon,” Trevor stated.

“I’ll be right back,” I muttered.

“Hailey,” Trevor protested grabbing my wrist as I slipped out of bed.

“Just let me go, Trevor,” I ordered.

He let go of my wrist looking more than slightly hurt as I rushed toward the bathroom. I closed and locked the door before falling against it, resting on the floor. There was a growing list of things that I couldn’t tell my brothers. I was a telekinetic freak, Sam might be one too, and I had a boyfriend who is pyrokinetic and likes to dream walk. I had been visited and stalked by the demon that had killed our mother. I also now knew that the friggin thing was a demon. How the fuck did, things get so complicated so quickly? I couldn’t tell them one thing without owning up to everything. And, yet I had a nagging feeling that Dad already knew a demon was behind Mom’s death, which is why he had fallen off the radar, he was closing in.

“Hailey?” Trevor asked knocking the door. “Come on, baby, let me in.”

I sighed and backed away from the door unlocking it in the same process. Trevor then opened and closed the door behind him as he crouched down across from me.

“Things got so fucked up,” I groaned.

“Which is why you have to tell your brothers,” Trevor prompted.

“You don’t understand, Trev,” I replied. “They’ll never look at me the same way again.”

“They love you,” Trevor stated firmly. “Nothing is going to change that. You understand?”

“You don’t know that!” I shouted. “You don’t. Everything is different now.”

“Some things will stay the same,” Trevor responded.

“I’ve lied to them to many times, they won’t trust me anymore,” I whispered.

“They’ve been lying to you too,” Trevor retorted.

“It’s not going to matter I’m the youngest,” I shrugged. “From their point of view, their lies are protecting me.”

“Yours are protecting them,” Trevor sighed. “Look, I’m not saying that this will be a nice, calm discussion because it won’t. You’ll all be shouting at each other, but they need to know everything.”

Suddenly my phone began to ring from the next room. I sighed and opened the door grabbing it off the nightstand.

“What?” I demanded.

“Hailey,” A gruff, familiar voice growled.

“Dad?” I gasped.

“I don’t know what you think you’re doing, young lady, but it stops right now, do you understand me?” Dad hissed.

“You’re a hypocrite,” I snarled. I heard my father begin to growl out a response to my insubordination, but I forged on. “You know exactly what killed mom and you fell off the fucking grid to hunt the damn thing.”

“How did you know it was a demon?” Dad snapped.

“Gee, Dad, I don’t know,” I scoffed. “Maybe it’s because I’m a good hunter. Raised by one of the best.”

“Hailey, it’s dangerous,” Dad sighed.

I could picture Dad pinching the bridge of his nose before wiping a hand down his face.

“Dad, I…”

“Be quiet, Hailey Jade and listen closely,” Dad ordered in his firm Do-as-I-say-or-else tone. I was irked to admit that it still worked despite him not being in the same room as I was probably not even in the same state.

“Fine,” I muttered.

“Do you know everything?” Dad asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied.

“Do not lie to me, Hailey Jade,” Dad growled.

“What would I know, Dad?” I asked

“Okay,” Dad grumbled. “You want to play that game? You probably know what killed your mother and you figured out why I dropped off the map. You’ve noticed that weird stuff, weird even for our family has been happening.”

“Dad?” I whispered.

“Just tell me, Hailey,” Dad prodded.

“I know that it was a demon. I know that you’re probably hunting it at this moment and last month when I was kidnapped I threw the demon that took me against the wall while I was still tied to the chair. Dad, what’s going on?”

“I don’t know, Hailey,” Dad whispered. “But I do know is that you’re not going to tell your brothers.”

“Sir?” I asked.

“Do not tell your brothers,” Dad ordered. “Not yet.”

“Dad, you’re not telling me to lie to them, are you?” I questioned.

“I’m not telling you not to do anything you weren’t already planning on doing,” Dad responded. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yes, sir,” I sighed.

“Do not tell them about this call,” Dad commanded.

“Of course, sir,” I muttered.

“I love you, Hailey,” Dad whispered.

“I love you too, Dad, stay safe,” I sighed.

I hung up the phone and deleted the most recent call just in case one of my brothers went snooping on my phone. I collapsed on my bed confused at what my father had told me what to do. Dean was his second in command and it was rare as in this-has-never-ever-happened-before that I knew something about Dad that my brothers had no inkling of and I was ordered not to tell them. Honestly, Dad was lucky that they had taught me how to lie because the lies that I had to keep track of seemed to be growing by the second. And the worst part was that there was only a matter of time before they all came spewing out, burying me in the process.

“Hailey, what is going on?” Trevor asked. From the tone in his voice, it sounded like he had asked more than once.

“My life is getting more and more complicated every single day.” I growled.

“That was your Dad on the phone?” Trevor prompted.

“Yeah, he’s alive,” I whispered.

“Call Dean,” Trevor exclaimed.

“I can’t, he said not to tell them,” I replied.

“Hailey, they’re your brothers,” Trevor reproached.

“Yeah and he’s my father, Trevor and when John Winchester gives you an order you listen to it.” I snapped.

“Really?” Trevor raised an eyebrow. “Because you have more loyalty to your father than you do to Dean?”

“You’ve never seen the way he treats people that are different, Trevor,” I growled. “Like the psychics, people like us? He thinks we should be hunted too, he doesn’t trust us.”

“Us?” Trevor growled. “Last time I checked we were both still human, Hails.”

“Yeah, well, you didn’t see his face,” I grumbled.

“When?” Trevor asked.

“It was a few years ago, Sam and Aiden were in school…”

_The impala rumbled as Dean floored the engine slightly. We were driving from Colorado all the way to Texas to see a clairvoyant that Dad told us we should check out to make sure she wasn’t crooked, meaning dabbling in the dark arts as there had been a few mysterious disappearances happening around the area. I sighed as I rested in the back of the impala. We were once again in between credit cards and that meant that we had been sleeping in the impala for the past three nights in a row._

_The tension was at an all-time high while patience was at an all-time low. Without Aiden and Sam to act as buffers, Dean and I fought over the smallest things. He thought that a fifteen-year-old was too young to be hunting let alone watching his back. He had voiced that exact sentiment a few times after we had a knockdown drag ‘em out fight. And it was enough to leave both of us with sour tastes in our mouths._

_I personally wanted to meet the clairvoyant and talk to her before we started passing judgments. But Dean already thought she was guilty without even meeting her. I never did understand why everything was so black and white with Dean and Dad. Sure, some things were evil and other things were good, pure but they never saw anything or anyone as being in the middle. You were either good or you were bad and had to be taken out._

_By the time we got to Dallas, Texas, Dean and I were at each other’s throats. I stormed after Dean as he slammed the driver’s door to the impala and basically ran up the stairs to the clairvoyant, Natasha Colson’s house and began pounding on the door._

_“Hello, Dean,” Natasha greeted coolly upon opening the door. “Hello, Hailey.”_

_“Hey,” Dean and I replied together._

_“Um, the Winchester family, or part of the Winchester family, I was wondering when I was going to meet you.”_

_“You’ve heard of us?” I asked ignoring Dean’s firm silencing look._

_“Of course,” Natasha scoffed. “Who hasn’t heard of the Winchester family?”_

_I smirked knowing that she was impressed with our family or at least my brothers. But when I looked at Dean, he looked even more untrusting._

_“If you’re wondering what is going on with the disappearances I can assure you that it wasn’t me,” Natasha replied as Dean glared at her._

_“And we’re supposed to trust you?” Dean growled lowly._

_“Why would I have any reason to lie?” Natasha asked seriously._

_“So we don’t kill you,” Dean responded._

_“You’re not going to kill me, Dean Winchester,” Natasha stated. “I know somewhere that you would never harm an innocent person even if you did think that there is something not right about me.”_

_Dean looked like he was going to say something, but Natasha interrupted._

_“Please, Dean, don’t belittle both my intelligence and my abilities,” Natasha scolded. “I’m clairvoyant. I personally think that I’m the least dangerous people around. Just ask Missouri, I am her protégé after all.”_

_“What?” Dean gasped._

“But that didn’t end badly, did it?” Trevor asked. “I mean Tasha is one of your closest friends.”

“You should still see the way Dean looks at her sometimes,” I frowned. “And you weren’t there at the time, Trev. There was something in Dean, something that told him not to trust Natasha no matter what. It took nearly two hours of convincing before he would even let her near me.”

“Like he isn’t that protective with you normally,” Trevor scoffed.

“It was different, Trev, you could tell,” I sighed. “Just trust me. What Dad said…what I’m doing, it’s for the best.”

“Until it all blows up in your face,” Trevor warned.

“Yeah,” I sighed.

“It’s a dangerous slope, Hails,” Trevor stated.

“They’re keeping stuff from me too, they can’t really get that angry,” I responded.

Of course, I knew that what I had just said had no basis. They were going to get angry, there was no one doubting that. But, I think we all had a reason to be upset with one another. We were all hiding secrets and it was only a matter of time before everyone knew what was. Although, I would make sure that they wouldn’t know about my abilities not until they had too. I didn’t want them treating me different. Not the way they treated Tasha. I just wanted things to be normal, well normal for us. Yet, I had a sinking feeling that nothing was going to be the way it used to be ever again.

 


	4. Forged by Fire

+

Being clairvoyant had its definite perks. For one, Natasha Colson wasn’t taken by surprise more often than not. Her visions were coming on a more frequent basis and they were making her nervous. Twenty-year-old, Natasha was not one to scare easy, but these visions were filled with blood, pain, and agony. The screams of her closest friend in the world, Hailey Winchester filled her ears once more and she visibly recoiled. Reminding herself that visions could change she took a calming breath as she padded to her kitchen.

It looked like it would be another sleepless night for Natasha. The young girl’s brows knitted over hazel eyes as she put a teakettle on the stove. She sat down lightly on the counter trying to make sense of her last grouping of visions. They had moved incredibly fast almost too fast for her to really see what was going on. The vision tumbled through her mind: fire and blood, the smell of smoke were overpowering, and then she saw the twisted metal of the car. Natasha fought to pull away from the vision, but pictures wrapped around her near to the point of suffocation before it suddenly disappeared, and Natasha was left gasping for air.

Natasha was dialing a number before her mind even realized that she had grabbed her cell phone from the counter. She waited patiently for the person to pick up.

“Winchester,” A light, lilting voice answered.

“Hailey?” Natasha asked.

“Taz?” Hailey Winchester gasped confusion distorting her tone. “Hey! Is everything okay? I haven’t talked to you in forever.”

“Can you get to New York City?” Natasha asked.

“Why?” Hailey demanded. “What happened? Are you okay? And do you have any idea what time it is?”

“I had a vision, I’m fine but this vision is stronger…worse somehow. I don’t know why I was going to call Missouri after I contacted you. And it’s five thirty in the morning,” Natasha replied effortlessly answering the litany of questions in order.

“The vision was stronger?” Hailey repeated. “Why the hell would it be stronger?”

“It sucked me back in no matter how many times I fought away from it,” Natasha whispered. “Something bad’s coming, Hails, I have to show you this.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Hailey promised.

“Hurry, Hails,” Natasha pleaded.

**Hailey’s Point of View**

“Trevor, Trev!” I shouted. “Wake up.”

“It’s five thirty,” Trevor whined.

“Yeah, well, suck it up you can sleep in the car,” I retorted.

“What?” Trevor asked. “What happened?”

“My friend had a vision,” I answered. “We have to go. Now.”

“Hailey, we can’t just leave,” Trevor responded. “If you’re gone when your brothers come back they’ll kill you.”

“You didn’t hear her, Trevor, she’s scared and Taz is never scared,” I muttered. “I’m leaving, now.”

“Not alone you’re not,” Trevor retorted. “Besides how are you going to get there steal a car?”

“Well, yeah?” I shrugged.

“Because that won’t make your brothers’ any less mad at you,” Trevor scoffed.

“Hey, back off, Moore,” I growled.

I moved past Trevor ignoring the eyes glaring into my back as I threw my two duffel bags onto the bed. I moved around quickly throwing my clothing and weapons into the separate duffel bags. I then went around decharming the room. I wrote a quick note and kept it where they could see it Trevor had already packed up and was dangling his keys around his index finger. I smiled slightly trailing after Trevor. I shut and locked the door and hung the do-not-disturb sign.  I rushed to the passenger side of Trevor’s mustang and quickly rattled directions to Natasha’s apartment. West Virginia to New York was going to take at least a day with the way that Trevor was driving.

We drove throughout the night. Whenever Trevor got tired I took over driving and we got into New York City as fast as we possibly could. Natasha was waiting for us when we got there after parking the car. I jumped out of the car and hugged her tight. We waited for Trevor and I introduced the two before we walked up to Natasha’s apartment.

“What’s going on?” I demanded. “What did you see?”

Natasha smiled a watery smile before putting her hands on either side of my head. I had seen her do this with other people once or twice, but I didn’t know what to expect. The pictures that appeared before my very eyes were startling and painful. I crumbled to the ground as gore, violence, screaming, and an unbearable sense of loss. It all passed by so fast that I couldn’t make sense of all of it. I wasn’t sure I wanted to.

When I came back to the real world I was aware that I was leaning against Trevor who seemed to be holding me up.

“Is that it?”  I whispered.

“No,” Natasha sighed. “I can’t make sense of the vision just yet. It’s a bunch of events jumbled into one vision. All I know is that there is something coming up fast and it’s nasty.”

“There’s a demon,” I whispered. “Called Azazel. I don’t know much about him but it’s all connected it has to be. He mentioned Sammy too.”

“I’ll look into it,” Natasha promised. “But you two should go get some sleep. I know you traveled throughout the night. That’s not healthy, Hails.”

“Please, I was raised on the road,” I scoffed.

Natasha sent me a glaring look before gesturing down the hallway that led to the bedrooms. I grabbed Trevor’s arm as I moved down the hallway. While saying I was raised on the road was true, it was also sad. I'm used to driving for days at a time, sleeping in the car when we were in between credit cards and just being in an enclosed space for long periods of time. There were some things one should not get used to and I think this was one of them.

I collapsed on the one bed in the room after toeing off my shoes. I grinned tiredly as Trevor pulled me to my chest as we both got much-needed sleep.

**Dean’s Point of View**

I felt guilty leaving Hailey behind. I knew that she was back to being at the top of her game, but I didn’t want her back into things so soon. She needed to heal more than just physically. I knew that she would never admit it but when she was kidnapped, it changed things for her, things that she just couldn’t change back. I think for the first time she realized, and it pained me to realize it also that there might be times where I might be there too late, and she’d have to save herself. All I know is when I got to that warehouse that she had been held in; the demon that had taken her was already dead. The person who had been possessed was unconscious and Hailey had been lucid for all of five minutes before she too had lost consciousness. Who would know the next time she would choose to wake up would be a month later.

There were some days where if you were looking at Hailey just right you could see the terror she had felt over those three weeks. Proof that her brothers weren’t superheroes and sometimes she really was on her own. If there were any doubts in those who were supposed to be watching your back that could create an unsafe environment to hunt in. None of us would ever intentionally hurt one another but there were just some things we couldn’t help. And Hailey wasn’t ready to hunt yet, despite what she may have thought.

It was a simple hunt that I took Aiden and Sam on a few counties over. A spirit was getting violent, so it was the run of the mill salting and burning the spirits remains. It was an easy job, but Hailey wasn’t the only one who was wadding slowly back into hunting. Aiden and Sam were out of real practical experience. While they might’ve kept up with training and conditioning they didn’t have the instinct that working jobs honed.

Aiden, Sam, and I had gotten back to the hotel around six in the morning. Hailey would still be asleep, but it would be nice to get a couple of hours ourselves before we packed everything up and moved to the next job. Opening up the door quietly, Aiden, Sam and I slipped inside. Instantaneously I knew something was off and I flipped the lights off. The charms were gone but a line of rock salt remained. Aiden and Sam sprang into action looking for Hailey as I spotted the piece of paper on the bed. I snatched it the second I could reach it and read it quickly getting angrier with every word.

**Guys,**

**I don’t know how to say this gently so I’m just going to say it I’m not there. I did the exact opposite of what you told me not to do and for that I’m sorry. If there was anything I could do to have prevented the way this went down I would’ve. I haven’t been kidnapped and I didn’t run away to spite your decision to keep me benched. One of my friends needed me and I had to go. The reason why I didn’t call to tell you guys was the fact that you never would’ve agreed to let me go and the fact that it would’ve distracted you from the hunt.**

**Hailey**

“I’m going to kill her!” I snarled. The very second, I got my hands on her I was going to murder her.

She was eighteen freaking years old and she still didn’t understand the fine art of staying where we had left her. I don’t give a shit if someone needed her she should’ve called and at least have asked.

“Dean?” Aiden called. “Dude, she’s gone.”

“Thanks for the newsflash, Edison,” I grumbled. “She left this. She said that she didn’t run away or disappear, but she sure as hell didn’t leave us any information on where the fuck she went.”

“What do we do?” Sam asked looking to me.

“Aiden call her,” I sighed. “Sam call Missouri and Bobby ask if they’ve seen her. Actually, run through all of our contacts. Anyone who may have seen her I want to know.”

**Aiden’s Point of View**

I had forgotten how unpredictable this life was. When dealing with the paranormal the saying expect the unexpected was one to always keep in the back of your mind. The unpredictability also stretched into our home lives. The lives we lived when we weren’t working and even the relationships we had with one another. The love we had was predictable, it would never falter but the way that my siblings and I would react to one another was an entirely different matter.

Hailey had always been unpredictable. She was like that when she hunted and the way she reacted to every situation. It wasn’t too say that she was a bad hunter, but she tended to jump in head first into problems without thinking what the consequences might be. It was obvious that she had done the exact same thing. Something had happened, and she reacted without thinking. Well, mostly without thinking, she did leave a note this time.

Out of the four of us, Hailey was like Dad. They both felt like it was perfectly okay to just walk out when they thought that it was helping people. But what about us? Dad just up and disappearing without a word didn’t help. Was he trying to protect us? Was he still alive? Was he okay? God the questions alone were enough to keep me up at night.

One of the entire reasons Sam and I got back into hunting was to help Dean find Hailey. It was three exhausting weeks were nearly everyone in the game was helping us look for her. Having no idea where she could be was one of the scariest things in the world. It had been only a month since she had been awake, and it was obvious that Dean didn’t want her doing anything strenuous. It was obvious that something bad enough had happened because she wasn’t acting the way she normally did. Her behavior was suspicious at best and she had been having nightmares steadily. She had been something through something traumatic and I understood that but that wasn’t why she was reacting the way she did. I didn’t know what had happened, but I knew it was bad.

I just didn’t understand she knew how scared we all were when she disappeared and now she did so willingly? She vanished with all her stuff with no explanation it made no sense. And it was just so Hailey.

“Ads?” I heard Dean snap. “You going to call her phone?”

“Yeah, sorry,” I muttered.

I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and then dialed her number. I waited as it rang and rang and just when I thought that Hailey was going to foolishly let it go to voicemail but her tired voice came across the line.

“Hey Aiden,” Hailey whispered.

“Hay, where are you?” I demanded.

“If I tell you that then you’ll just come storming over and then I won’t be able to help my friend.

“Hailey, this isn’t a joke,” I bit out.

“I know it’s not,” She replied casually. “This isn’t a joking manner, but this is something that I need to do by myself.”

“Hailey,” I growled.

“I’m fine, Ads, I’ll call you later alright?” Hailey responded.

Before I could respond, Dean had snatched my phone out of my hand. I sighed as he began grilling her from what I could tell she was giving him the same answers and not giving him what he wanted to know.

“Hailey Jade Winchester don’t you dare…hang up on me,” Dean seethed. He sighed before tossing my phone back to me. “She hung up on me. I’m going to kill her.”

“Dean she had to have had a reason,” I soothed. “She said she’s okay.”

“Oh, yeah she’s okay until I get my hands on her,” Dean growled.

“Dean if she knows you’re angry she is going to be even more reluctant to give us any leads on where she is,” Sam responded. “You need to calm down. If she said she’s okay, then I’m sure she is.”

“Has anyone seen her?” Dean asked.

I sighed and rolled my eyes leave it to Dean to completely ignore what Sam and I were saying. Dean could be very single-minded when it came to the youngest member of the brood. Dean had raised us nearly singlehandedly, managing to fulfill two roles at once whenever we needed them, the father, and obnoxious overprotective brother, who just loves to bully you. Dean was able to jump from one to the other so easily that for outsiders it could boggle the mind. While Dad was still our father, it had always been Dean that we looked to for answers and orders whether it was a job or just everyday life. Sure dad was the one where Dean got some of the jobs and orders and Dad also did his best to raise us, but he couldn’t break the bonds that happened as a direct result to whenever he left Dean in charge when he left on hunts when we were all growing up. One of the funniest things had to be the way Dean could emulate Dad to a tee whenever orders were not followed, and orders were one of the last things that Hailey Winchester liked to listen to.

This had happened before in different time and in different ways, but she never put herself in jeopardy, well at least not from an outsider. We would like to find as we always did and then she wouldn’t be sitting easily for a couple of days then everything was back to normal and she wouldn’t run off again. Those events had happened enough for it really not to be surprising but weren’t a weekly or monthly occurrence. Actually, I don’t think she had pulled a stunt like that since she had been fourteen not that it mattered. I had no idea what she was thinking of pulling something like this after, we had just gotten her back.

“No, no one I’ve called has seen her yet,” Sam mumbled.

“Okay, we can’t just stay here,” Dean muttered.

“Wait,” I replied. “She’s done this before. I mean the running thing? And where has she ran consistently?”

“Tasha,” Sam groaned. “Of course. She might’ve had a vision and needed Hailey.”

“Well, let’s go we can be there in a day at least,” Dean ordered.

**Hailey’s Point of View**

I had no idea what time it was, but I knew that it was at least midday. Trevor was still sleeping as I slipped out of the guest room and down the hallway looking for Natasha. I found her over by the window seemingly starring out into space.

“You and your family are on a very dangerous path,” Natasha responded. “The demon who took your mother away from you is looking for special children.”

“What do you mean special children?” I demanded. “Is Sam apart of it?”

“You and Sam are in two different generations,” Natasha informed me her voice dropping in pitch as her eyes glazed over. “Sam and you are chosen for something and it isn’t good. The powers both of you are starting to get Azazel wants to use for something.”

“Use for what?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Natasha replied. “The very development of the plan that is forming has yet to happen. Azazel is just choosing children. But you and Sam are definitely frontrunners.”

“Shit, Tasha, that makes me feel so much better,” I grumbled dropping down on the couch. “You’re telling me there are others like me?”

“Yes, a lot of others,” Natasha replied. “There are at least thirty in your age group and the same amount in your brothers.”

“I haven’t seen any signs that Sam has abilities,” I told her.

“Just like he hasn’t seen any with you?” Natasha replied.

“This is so fucked up,” I groaned.

“Oh, it’s about to get worse,” Natasha grimaced.

“What?” I asked sitting up straight and looking around suspiciously. “Why?”

“Your brothers are here,” Natasha stated. “And they aren’t exactly pleased.”

“Son of a bitch.”

 


	5. Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

In my past three years of hunting, there had been things that were weak and then there were others that were completely terrifying. However, in all my eighteen years of life, nothing was more formidable than Dean’s temper and adding that of Aiden and Sammy’s it was just not a place you wanted to be. Believe me, I had been there more than enough times.

I was the flight risk of the family, but, I was by no means a coward. There were times where the testosterone overdose that were my life made certain things difficult. I had run away before, but it wasn’t teenage rebellion, it was more like self-preservation. I got tired of the constant moving and the shitty motels that we’d rent. Have you ever run a black light over a motel room? Just…don't unless you wanted to be scarred for life. Anyway, after being cramped in enclosed spaces with just my brother and fathers for companions, it made a lot of sense that I’d run just for the sake of my sanity. Granted by the time Dean or my father found me… I shudder to even remember those particular episodes. Let’s just say there was a lot of yelling and crying and not being able to sit comfortably in the impala for at least a week. But I digress, the main point? Unless you were a Winchester, you didn’t want to cross another Winchester. Especially one with as short a fuse as Dean’s.

Natasha looked deep in thought for a moment before she opened the front door. Dean had his hand poised to knock but dropped it back to his side once he saw Natasha. Sam and Dean were standing side-by-side blocking any chance of an escape. Natasha was frowning up at them as their eyes swept the apartment. I didn’t know why exactly she was frowning before I heard a bang towards the back of the bedroom.

It all made sense then, Sam and Dean had come the normal way, while Aiden climbed the fire escape thereby blocking all potential exits in Natasha’s apartment. But the fire escape was in the guest bedroom. The room that might as well have been mine and Trevor was currently sleeping in that room. Son of a bitch, I sighed and hung my head I just couldn’t catch a break.

Before Dean or Sam could see me, I rushed back towards the bedroom. I threw the door open and groaned. Trevor was awake but was currently being held against the wall by his throat.

“Aiden!” I shouted. “Leave him alone.”

“I knew there was something you weren’t telling us,” Aiden fumed. He hadn’t let Trevor go yet, only tightened his grip. “You can’t lie to us, Hailey. You never have been able to.”

“Ads let him go,” I ordered.

“No,” Aiden retorted. “You think that you can just sneak around behind all of our backs and date this punk?”

“I didn’t realize I needed your permission, Aiden,” I growled. “I’m eighteen years old. I can date whomever I please.”

“Yeah, you fucking him too?” Aiden questioned before turning back to Trevor. “Huh? Are you fucking my baby sister?”

“Aiden, that's not your business,” I hissed. "Back off."

“Hailey, leave,” Aiden responded not glancing away from Trevor. “Unless you want to see your little boy toy get his ass kicked.”

"If anyone is about to get their ass kicked it's you," I retorted. "Let him go, Aiden. I'm serious."

I growled in annoyance before attempting to forcibly remove Aiden’s grip from Trevor’s throat.  Aiden just removed one arm and shoved me backward so that I was sprawled out on the bed. Aiden, then, raised his fist, still keeping Trevor pinned. Before Aiden could even deliver a punch that would have hit Trevor right in the face, he went flying, pinned against the opposite wall.

“What the fuck?” Aiden snapped struggling against my abilities.

“Aiden, it’s okay,” I soothed.

“You did this?” Aiden asked. “What the hell, Hailey?”

“I don’t know,” I replied. “But it’s okay.”

“You threw me into a wall!” Aiden yelled.

“You were about to beat my boyfriend’s face in,” I retorted.

“Christo,” Aiden spat.

“I’m not possessed, Aiden,” I grumbled.

“How long?” Aiden whispered.

“A few months,” I replied.

“We have to tell Dean,” Aiden answered.

“No,” I stated.

“What?” Aiden demanded. “Hailey, he’ll freak when he finds out you’re keeping this from him.”

“No,” I whispered. “Please, Aiden, promise me.”

“He’s going to be pissed,” Aiden informed me.

“Something new and different,” I rolled my eyes. “Don’t try to hit Trevor again.”

“Fine,” Aiden muttered. “But if you hurt her in any way…”

“I won’t,” Trevor said.

“See?” I replied.

It was then Aiden started laughing.

“What?” I demanded.

“I might be okay with it, but you still have to go through Dean and Sam,” Aiden chortled. “Good luck with that one.”

“Oh, Hailey!” Natasha shouted down the hallway. “Guess who came to visit?”

The only warning I had that Sam and Dean had finally been let into the apartment was two pairs of boots storming down the hallway before the door suddenly slammed open. Once again, Sam and Dean blocked the door as both came through it closing the door behind them.

“Oh, hi, guys, fancy meeting you here,” I smiled.

“You’re honestly choosing now to get cute?” Sam asked.

I made an almost exact replica of the face that Sam made whenever we did something annoying. Dean liked to call it Sammy’s bitch face. I risked a look at Dean and I flinched at the glare Dean threw at me. I sighed knowing that there was nothing I could say to make things better. At least I had answered my phone and left a note, that was much more than I had done in the past. There wasn’t any slack in Dean’s expression as he stormed closer grabbing my arm and pushing me against the wall so that there was no way I could move. Right when it looked like Dean was about to tear into me, Sammy spotted Trevor.

“Hey, aren’t you that guy from the roadhouse?” Sam asked.

“That’s Hailey’s boyfriend,” Aiden stated as he lounged on the bed. I quickly shot him a shut-up look, which he ignored choosing to smirk at me instead. Asshole.

Explain,” Dean growled. “Now.”

“Alright,” I shrugged, I really had nothing to lose I was fucked either way. “This is my boyfriend Trevor.”

“We’ve established that,” Dean growled, still keeping me pinned against the wall. “Feel like sharing the backstory?”

“Not really,” I shrugged.

“Not really isn’t an option for an answer, Hailey,” Dean snapped.

“It’s complicated,” I replied.

I had to admit I really didn’t want to answer the question because telling them that I met him in a dream and we’d been technically been dating for two months didn’t seem like an appropriate answer. There was also the fact that I didn’t want to be chewed out in front of my boyfriend.

“Try me,” Dean snapped.

“We, uh, met last month,” I started. “He was working in the hospital that I was in.”

“Cute,” Dean nodded. “And?”

Normally it was Dean’s reactions I had to watch but, I saw Sam flinch just slightly, but it was enough to pique my interest. Now, why would Sammy reach that way? By the way, Sam was suddenly avoiding my eye; I knew it wasn’t anything good. I was going to have to talk to him alone but now was just not the time. Especially when Dean was giving me that look. You know the one that made me start fearing for my safety. Yup, that’s the one.

“What exactly are you doing here?” Dean demanded.

I guessed that I had answered enough on the whole boyfriend thing. I shot a ha-ha look to Aiden who looked pissed off, to say the least. It seemed as though Aiden wanted Sam and Dean to be the ones to freak out about the whole thing. Thankfully, I had also snuck away and that was probably what they were most irritated with. Thus the immediate questioning on that very subject once I had answered the boyfriend question.

“Did you read my note?” I asked.

“Hailey.” There was a clear warning in just saying my name that said in no uncertain terms to watch my step.

“Tasha needed to tell me something,” I replied.

“The phone?” Sam suggested.

“She needed to show me,” I stated.

“Anything you’d like to share with the class?” Dean growled.

“I’d really rather not,” I whispered.

Dean’s eyebrows just about shot off of his forehead and he took one small step closer to me. “That wasn’t a suggestion, Hailey Jade. You don’t just up and leave and not tell us why you’re here.”

“I told you why,” I stated. “Tasha needed me, I came. End of story.”

“And you didn’t call?” Sam snapped.

“Why?” I asked hotly. “So you could forbid me from coming here? I’m sorry but when my best friend needs me, I’m going to help her. Besides it wasn’t like you needed me when you’re all keeping me benched in the first place.”

“You were not trying to prove a point?” Dean growled.

“No!” I shouted. “I was keeping my promise. Something you taught me, Dean.”

I saw Dean calculating what I had just said. He couldn’t exactly refute that statement he had taught me that a Winchester keeps their promises no matter what. I allowed myself a small smirk thinking that I had finally shut down the subject. Sadly, Dean’s face got stony and he glanced at Aiden, Sam, and Trevor.

“Guys, leave,” Dean ordered

Aiden and Sam exchanged glances before quickly leaving the room. Trevor hadn’t moved, and Dean glared at him.

“I said go,” Dean snapped.

“It’s okay, Trevor,” I whispered.

Trevor looked at me before following after Sam and Aiden. Dean shut the door behind him and glared at me.

“Sit down,” Dean ordered.

I sat down quickly watching my brother carefully. I tried to think of where this whole thing could possibly go. I frowned knowing that not even two years ago, pulling a stunt like this would result in one cherry colored bottom for yours truly and try as I might think differently, things really hadn’t changed.

“I thought we had broken this running habit of your years ago,” Dean frowned standing in front of me.

“I wasn’t running,” I responded.

“Really, Hails?” Dean demanded. “Because this whole thing feels pretty damn familiar.”

“Yeah, Dean,” I muttered. I couldn’t really deny the fact that this whole thing really did feel familiar. It was somewhat annoying that the mistakes of my past still lingered whenever I pulled something that my brothers didn’t like. I wasn’t running away though.

 “I was going to come back,” I continued before Dean could say something else, “and I answered my phone. I left a note too.”

“A note that didn’t even mention where you were going!” Dean yelled. “Have you lost your damn mind? Are you that angry at me that you decide now would be a great time to not listen to my orders?”

“That is not how it happened,” I groaned. “I didn’t obey my orders and I’m sorry, but you should’ve heard Tasha, Dean, she sounded freaked and she never gets freaked.”

“You should’ve called,” Dean growled. “We could’ve stopped by without you having to steal a car.”

“Uh, Trevor drove his car,” I responded.

“Hailey,” Dean growled rubbing a hand down his face.

“What we didn’t steal anything,” I replied.

“How did you even start up with this kid?” Dean groaned. “You guys met at a hospital? And he magically turns out to be another hunter?”

“A lot of hunters work real jobs, Dean,” I sighed.

“So, not the point, Hailey,” Dean said. “I’m tired of you hiding shit from me.”

“Yes, sir,” I nodded.

“Don’t just nod your head, Hailey, stop it, now,” Dean ordered sharply.

“Okay, Dean,” I muttered.

“And don’t do this again,” Dean stated.

I nodded again and stood up. The lecturing was done, and it really wasn’t all that bad. When Dean finds out all the stuff I still haven’t told him about, that will be bad. I winced and looked away as Dean pulled me into him. Before I could even hug him back, he moved to grab me into a headlock.

“Dean!” I complained. “Come on. Don’t be an ass.”

“Dean!” Tasha shouted. “You better come out here and greet me properly!”

“She is like a double of Missouri,” Dean muttered.

“You’re lucky I don’t have a spoon!” Tasha retorted.

Dean frowned at that releasing me and moving towards the living room. Before I could follow after him, Sam had come back and closed the door leaving us alone.

“You knew what I was going to say before I said it,” I accused.

“I don’t know what you’re talking…”

“Cut the crap, Sammy. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

“That thing was telling the truth,” Sam gasped.

“Azazel?” I corrected. “Yeah, it was. What do you get?”

“Premonitions,” Sam replied “You?”

“Telekinesis,” I said. “Trevor is pyrokinetic and he can jump into dreams. That was how we met.”

“This is so fucked up,” Sam mumbled.

“We can’t tell Dean,” I said.

“Hailey,” Sam frowned.

“He won’t understand,” I stated. “And you know he won’t. Dad raised us to see everything as black and white. We’re gray. Promise me, Sammy, please.”

“Okay,” Sam sighed.

Sam didn’t look so sure of what he just said but I knew he’d keep his promise. It wasn’t right keeping things from each other, but I was honestly afraid of how Dean would see me if he found out that I was telekinetic.  Little did Sam know that Aiden was in on the secret too? And as uncomfortable as keeping things from Dean it wouldn’t be the first time. After all, all three of us thought of Dean as a parent in some respects and that’s what siblings did on some occasions, keeping things among themselves to keep each other out of trouble.

I walked up to Sam and hugged him. Out of all three of my brothers, Sam was the least reluctant to have what Dean called chick-flick moments.

“Guys!” Aiden shouted. “Natasha found us a hunt in Red Lodge, Montana!”

Sam and I exchanged glances before moving out to the living room. Trevor, Natasha, Aiden, and Dean were gathered around the dining room table. Tasha had thrown pebbles that had all landed around Montana.

“Say goodbye to your boyfriend Hailey,” Aiden muttered.

I shot a glare at Aiden who was glaring unabashedly at Trevor. I looked to Dean and Sam, but both avoided my glances.

“Aiden shut the fuck up,” I snapped.

“Hailey,” Sam reproached.

I huffed and rolled my eyes. Sure, Aiden could be as mean as he wanted to Trevor but the minute I said a curse word they got involved. And it was a word that they used all the time too. Where did they think I learned it from?

Dean, Aiden, and Sam said a quick goodbye to Tasha and they all looked at Trevor distrustfully before walking out the door. I could tell that they were waiting in the hallway outside of Tasha’s door.

“Thanks for coming, Hails,” Natasha whispered.

“Of course,” I smiled. I gave her a quick hug before I moved down to hug Trevor.

Trevor hugged me back before I kissed him softly. Just when it was about to get a little more heated my brothers shouted for me. I waved goodbye before following my brothers down to the street.

I got into the back of the car slightly comforted by the fact that seating hadn’t changed since Aiden and Sam had been gone. Dean was driving, with Sam riding shotgun, while Aiden and I were lounging in the back seat. I was sitting so that my feet were in Aiden’s lap as I began to doze off.

_“Do you even know how far off the reservation you’ve gone? So far from normal? From human?” Dean growled._

_I had never seen Dean look so upset and disgusted at the same time. And what was he talking about? Had he found out about my secret? Or Sam’s?_

_“I’m just exorcizing demons!” And that was Sam’s voice._

_“With your mind!” Dean shouted. “What else can you do?”_

_“I can send them back to hell,” Sam replied. “It only works for demons and that’s it.”_

_“What. Else. Can. You. Do?” Dean bit out, grabbing Sam’s shirt and slamming him against the wall._

_It was then I made an appearance bursting through the door of the motel room. I noticed that Dean and Sam looked like it they were about to come to blows and I shoved them. They were pinned on opposite walls. Sam just relaxed but Dean seemed freaked._

_“You too?” Dean screamed._

_“Dean, we should’ve said something,” I whimpered. “But try to see the other side of all this…”_

“Hailey!” Aiden shouted shaking me awake. “Nightmare?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” I shuddered.

I leaned back against the window trying to ignore Dean’s looks from the rear-view mirror. What the hell was that? I felt chills it was way too realistic. What the hell was going on?

 


	6. Fire in Her Soul

After we left Natasha’s we drove as far as we could to Montana but stopped for the night when Aiden and I began to fight for the third time. It was obvious that Aiden was still irritated about Trevor and I just didn’t feel like dealing with his attitude, resulting in a volatile situation. I had been resting against the door when Aiden shoved me for no apparent reason.

“What?” I demanded.

“Stay on your side,” Aiden responded.

“There are no sides,” I growled.

“Guys,” Dean warned.

“How is this my fault?” I responded. “He’s being completely insufferable.”

Dean and Sam exchanged glances before Sam began to scout for motels and finally found one along the interstate. Dean pulled into the parking lot and stopped by the office. He got out and quickly came back with two room keys.

Depending on the situation and what kind of motel it was whether or not we got one room or two. When we were able, we got conjoined rooms. Aiden and I normally stayed in a room together while Sam and Dean stayed in the other. When we didn’t get conjoined rooms, we got them right next to each other. The only times we all shared a room was when we were all injured, or we couldn’t pay for more than one room. Sometimes the pairing switched up when there was fighting unless all of us were fighting then, well, nothing really changed there was just more shouting then normal. The positives of getting two rooms were that at least two of us could shower at the same time cutting down on our mornings. We also didn’t have to share beds as frequently anymore.

We all got out of the impala grabbing our individual duffel bags before trekking into each of our rooms with orders that we’d meet in Dean and Sam’s room once we were all settled for the night. I dropped my bags on the bed furthest from the door before calling dibs on the first shower. I showered quickly figuring that it wouldn’t be in my best interest to make Aiden angrier than he was already.

I towel dried my hair before putting it into a ponytail. I put on a tank top and my terry cloth shorts. Aiden brushed by me and slammed the bathroom door. I rolled my eyes slamming the front door and went to Dean and Sam’s room. I walked through it without knocking. Sam’s head snapped towards the door but relaxed when he saw me.

“Hails?” Sam asked. “What’s going on?”

“He’s such a dick,” I muttered.

“Excuse me?” Sam asked.

“Aiden is a dick,” I grumbled.

“Why?” Sam responded.

“He’s mad that you guys didn’t ream me out for dating Trevor,” I grumbled.

“I see,” Sam responded.

The conversation turned to silence as I lounged on one of the beds waiting for Dean to come out of the shower and Aiden to come into the room. Aiden came in first; he burst into the room, his hair still damp, with tee shirt and sweatpants on.

“God, Hails, could you wear any less clothing if you’d tried?” Aiden sneered.

“If you got it, flaunt it,” I retorted.

“Guys, stop it,” Sam ordered sharply.

Aiden rolled his eyes dropping into the seat across from Sam. When Dean came out of the bathroom, he took one look around the room and growled.

“What did I miss?” Dean sighed.

“Nothing,” Aiden and I muttered.

“Sam?” Dean asked.

“Aiden and Hails are still pissed at each other,” Sam replied.

“He started it,” I muttered

“If you could keep your legs closed there wouldn’t be a problem,” Aiden retorted.

In the minute it took for Dean and Sam to process what Aiden said, I had leaped across the room punching Aiden in the face. He growled pushing me backward, but I ducked away and came back with a left jab, a right cross combination that knocked him back down. Before either of us could fight further, Sam and Dean had gathered their wits and separated us. Sam had grabbed Aiden and I was currently dangling in the air from Dean holding me around the waist.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Dean snapped dropping me back on one of the beds. “Cut it out!”

“He started it!” I shouted.

“You punched me,” Aiden retorted.

“You called me a slut,” I responded.

“Hailey, out,” Dean ordered.

“What?” I huffed. “Why?”

“Because I told you too,” Dean growled. “Go, now.”

I growled storming out of the room and slamming my way through the room, Aiden and I were sharing. Dean came in five minutes later and pointed towards one of the beds. I sat down, watching as Dean pulled out a chair dropping it down right next to me and straddling it. After a near ten-minute staring contest, Dean broke first.

“Care to share?” Dean asked.

Most people would see that as a question. But, I spoke Winchester-lingo fluently and clearly saw that as an order disguised as a question. And, yes, before someone asks I was just basically ordered to share my feelings. Yet, despite the order that wasn’t really a full out order I had the option of sidestepping the question.

“Not really,” I muttered.

“Excuse me?” Dean snapped.

“I don’t see the need to share,” I clarified as an afterthought I added, “sir.” Because with the way Dean was looking at me my answer would be taken as insubordinate regardless of whether or not ‘sir’ had been added.

“Oh, really?” Dean demanded pinning me with a hard look. “You know that fighting before hunts cause problems.”

“Yeah, I know,” I responded. “But, Aiden’s the one that’s being obnoxious.”

“Hails,” Dean sighed.

“He is!” I retorted. “He’s been gone for two years and suddenly he feels like he can treat me like this? Like him leaving never happened?”

“He’s still your brother,” Dean stated.

“He can’t just leave and then come back like that,” I grumbled. “I’m not the little kid that he left behind anymore. I’m eighteen years old!”

“It’s going to take a while for all of us to get used to each other again,” Dean replied. “But everything will be okay. In the meantime, Aiden will stay with Sam and I’ll sleep here.”

“Thanks, Dean,” I sighed.

“Don’t mention it, Hails,” Dean scoffed.

I climbed into bed watching as Dean re-packed Aiden’s duffel bags before quickly going back to the other room only to come back a few minutes later dropping his own stuff by mine before slipping into the opposite bed. I rolled over and closed my eyes.

_“Hello, Hailey,” A familiar rasping growl greeted._

_“There a reason why you keep bothering me?” I growled._

_“Such an attitude,” Azazel sighed. “What you don’t understand, Hails is that you and Sam are my favorites.”_

_“Favorites for what?” I asked._

_“I see your powers are manifesting,” Azazel said sidestepping my question._

_“What my telekinesis?” I scoffed. “It’s fine.”_

_“It’s out of control,” Azazel corrected. “If you keep trying to bury it, it’ll become uncontrollable.”_

_“Shut up,” I snapped._

_“You can’t hide who you truly are, Hailey Winchester,” Azazel scolded._

_“And what am I?” I shouted._

_“You’re chosen,” Azazel replied._

_“You keep saying that, chosen!” I growled. “Chosen for what?”_

_“Can’t give away the punch line just yet,” Azazel responded._

_“Go fuck yourself,” I snarled._

_Suddenly I was thrown against the wall of the room. I couldn’t move an inch as Azazel walked closer._

_“Now, I have tried to be patient,” Azazel snapped. “But you’re trying my last nerve, Hailey Winchester. You will do what I say, or I won’t be so nice anymore.”_

_“Go to hell,” I groaned. The pressure that was keeping me against the wall was not even close to comfortable._

_Before I could even process what Azazel had said I felt a burning pain in my stomach, I bit my lip to keep from screaming but the pain merely intensified. I screamed despite my best intentions. I felt the warm liquid of blood trickling down my stomach. He was cutting me open, with what I didn’t know but I never wanted to feel it again._

“Hailey!”

_“See you next time, little Winchester,” Azazel laughed._

“Hailey!” Dean shouted. “Hails wake up!”

I gasped rocketing forward, nearly smacking heads with Dean.

“You alright?” Dean asked. “You were screaming your head off for at least two minutes.”

“‘M fine,” I muttered.

“Hails?” Dean prodded.

I groaned under my breath as I moved quickly to the bathroom locking the door behind me. I carefully pulled my shirt up and gasped before sneering at my reflection. Nearly my entire stomach was covered in deep blue, nearly black bruising.

“Hailey?” Dean asked again knocking on the bathroom door.

“Just give me five minutes, Dean,” I responded letting my irritation for not getting a few minutes of peace color my tone.

I heard someone knock on the main door unsurprised when Dean was answering Sam’s questions. I rolled my eyes when someone once again knocked on the door. I growled unlocking the door and let the person in. I raised my eyebrow in seeing Sam walk into the bathroom and closing the door.

“Sam?” I questioned.

“Dean went to check on Aiden,” Sam replied. “There a reason why you woke up screaming?”

“Azazel paid me a little visit again,” I responded.

“Oh?” Sam frowned.

“Yeah, he left me a little parting gift too,” I snarked lifting my shirt off.

Sam hissed and reached a hand to touch it, but I shied away, glaring at him.

“Don’t touch it,” I snapped.

“Hailey,” Sam sighed. “We should…”

“No, you promised me, Sammy,” I growled.

“You’re hurt,” Sam retorted.

“Who gives a shit?” I fired back.

“Hailey,” Sam warned.

“Sam, I’m a hunter, I’ve been more injured then this, back off,” I growled.

“Damn it, Hailey,” Sam fumed.

“What do you want me to do?” I growled. “Cry? Do you wanna kiss my boo-boo, Sammy?”

“You’ve been spending too much time with Dean,” Sam frowned.

“Yeah, well, he’s the only one who didn’t abandon me,” I retorted. “Are we done here?”

“I didn’t abandon you!” Sam responded. “I was just going to college. It was Dad…”

“Yeah, it’s always Dad’s fault isn’t it?” I rolled my eyes. “Dad made you leave. Dad made you fight with him nearly every single day after you turned fifteen. Dad made you pull Dean in the middle.”

“The man isn’t fucking infallible, Hailey!” Sam snapped.

I shook my head at the angry look Sam threw at me. I moved to walk back into the room; Sam grabbed my wrist intending to spin me around.

“Get off me!” I growled.

“You’re not walking away from this,” Sam replied. “Where did all this come from, Hay, huh?”

“Just let me go, Sam,” I demanded.

“No,” Sam replied. “You’re not allowed to go off on someone and not have a reasonable explanation.”

“Not having a reasonable explanation?” I repeated. “You fucking kidding me, Sam? You left, _poof_ gone for two years, maybe three.”

“Dad told me to stay gone,” Sam snapped.

“Oh, so you listen to the man when it benefits you?” I scoffed. “No calls, no nothing, Sam. For all you know we could’ve died and you wouldn’t know because you’re too goddamn prideful to pick up the phone and call us.”

“He said…”

“Yeah, I know!” I shouted. “You guys always say shit you don’t mean. Did you suddenly forget that just because this fight, in particular, was one of the worst?”

“Stop it, Hailey,” Sam ordered sharply.

“A second ago you were angry that I wasn’t sharing my feelings and now you’re telling to stop?” I smirked. “Jeez, Sammy, make up your mind.”

I winced when Sam slammed me against the bathroom door. Maybe I had pushed a little too far. After all, the entire Winchester family had a temper and Sam was no exception. The worst thing about Sam was that he didn’t have to put a lot of thought into being threatening. Although he was more low-key than Dean, he was a force to be reckoned with if you poked him hard enough.

“Where is all this coming from?” Sam asked again. “Aiden and I have been around for weeks now. You could’ve just told us how you were feeling earlier.”

“Why?” I asked. “Give you even more reason to sideline me from any jobs we come across.”

“You know it’s not like that, Hailey,” Sam sighed.

“Really, Sammy?” I muttered. “I’ve been out of the hospital for weeks now. I got my strength back and I can run and do everything. There’s no reason for me to still be benched and yet I am.”

“There’s a lot of reasons, Hailey,” Sam replied quietly.

“Yeah?” I demanded, “Like what?”

“We don’t want to lose you again,” Sam stated. “Dean was a wreck. Aiden wasn’t faring much better and neither was I.”

“So, it’s fair for you guys to risk it?” I asked. “Risk me losing you guys? Do you think I’d handle it any better?”

“I’ll talk to Dean,” Sam frowned.

I looked down at my feet feeling very exhausted. I had not one but two fights in one day. I moved to peel myself away from the door when Sam grabbed my wrist again. I looked up at him questioningly, but Sam did not say a word instead pulling me into him. I sighed and hugged him back. While Sam Winchester was the most likely to hold a grudge, he never could stay mad at me.

It felt nice to get the weight of the feelings I had for Sam leaving suddenly off my chest. It was almost as nice as hugging him again. When we both pulled away, I knew that everything was okay again. Sam opened the bathroom door and we walked out. Instead of Dean being there like I thought he would be, Aiden was.

“Dean wants to talk to you,” Aiden stated looking at Sam.

“Alright,” Sam shrugged.

I watched as Sam walked out of one room and going into the one where Dean was waiting. I attempted to move past Aiden, who was standing in the middle of the room when he stuck his hand out to halt my progress. Or at least that’s what he meant to do; instead, I yelped and winced when his stray limb brushed against my stomach.

“Hailey?” Aiden gasped. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” I replied.

“I barely touched you,” Aiden responded. He then lunged quickly lifting my shirt up. He saw the bruise and quickly let my shirt fall back. “What the hell?”

“It’s nothing,” I responded.

“Bullshit, Hails,” Aiden snapped. “You used to be able to talk to me.”

“Ads,” I sighed.

“Come on, Hailey, you know you can trust me,” Aiden stated.

I looked at him carefully, it was obvious there were no hard feelings from earlier and Aiden only wanted to know what was going on. I sighed thinking quickly the more people I told the angrier Dean was going to be that he was out of the loop.

“Hailey,” Aiden prompted.

“Okay, okay,” I groaned. “Look it was a demon that came after me when I was a baby. His name is Azazel and is responsible for my telekinesis. He’s been visiting my dreams lately. The last one was tonight where he left the bruise as a parting gift. That’s all I know right now.”

“God, Hailey,” Aiden hissed.

“Somehow I don’t think God has anything to do with this,” I scoffed.

“That isn’t funny, Hailey,” Aiden scolded.

“I wasn’t laughing,” I replied. “Look, don’t tell Dean and we can figure this out. In the meantime, we’ll hunt until we find Dad. I have no doubt in my mind that he knows a lot more than we do.”

“This is so messed up,” Aiden groaned.

“Yeah, my thoughts exactly, big brother,” I replied.

Somehow sleep suddenly seemed like it wasn’t an option anymore, but we tried anyway. Sleeping in a bed was much more comfortable than sleeping in the impala any day.

 


	7. Deterioration

I didn’t know what time it was when I finally woke up the next morning, but I knew that it would be a later start then we normally liked when we were hunting. I got up and stretched before biting back a groan. Oh, shit, I forgot about my stomach. I got up and walked to the bathroom, kicking the door shut behind me. I lifted my shirt up annoyed to see that the bruise hadn’t healed at all. I glared at my reflection, pulling my shirt off completely deciding to take another shower. It was a quick shower, mostly because there was barely any hot water left. I brushed my hair and left it down to dry as I slipped into an AC/DC shirt I stole from Dean and a pair of jeans.

I walked back into the main room and saw that Sam, Dean, and Aiden had ended up sleeping here. I smiled and laughed slightly, I hadn’t even noticed that Sam was sleeping in the same bed I was. I walked over to where I had placed my cell phone the night before. Just when I had flipped it open, Natasha called. Sometimes having a best friend who was clairvoyant was freaky.

“You know, Tasha, that’s really freaking weird,” I announced answering my phone.

“Like you have room to talk, Winchester,” Natasha snarked back. “But, listen to me, do not go to Red Lodge.”

“Why not?” I responded. “We’re nearly halfway there.”

“Gordon Walker is already there,” Natasha told me. “And you’re needed in Colorado.”

“What are you talking about?” I frowned.

“Daniel Elkins is dead,” Natasha announced.

“You’re kidding,” I whispered.

“No,” Natasha replied. “And he didn’t die naturally either. Red Lodge is covered go to Manning, Colorado.”

“We’ll be there within the day,” I stated.

“Be careful, Hails,” Natasha pleaded.

“You too,” I sighed.

I hung up the phone and stared at it for a second. The entire Winchester family owed Daniel Elkins a lot. He had taught Dad about hunting, and Dad had, in turn, taught us. Even when he and Dad eventually had a falling out, he could always be trusted. He also was willing to help us out on occasion from anything from putting us up for the night to helping us find information.

“Guys!” I shouted.

Everyone jerked awake and looked at me in confusion.

“What time is it?” Dean groaned.

“Eleven,” I responded.

“Wonderful,” Dean muttered.

“Daniel Elkins died,” I declared.

“What?” Sam gasped.

“I don’t know anything else,” I said.

“Alright, everyone pack your crap, we’re going to Colorado,” Dean ordered.

We all packed silently and were on our way to Colorado within the next fifteen minutes. The ride out was quiet, each of us lost in our own thoughts. I, for one, couldn’t remember the last time we had ever seen him. This just sucked I couldn’t place my feelings, part of me grieved, the other part was angry what had gotten the drop on Elkins? Whatever it was, its days were numbered.

By the time the time we got to Manning, Colorado, the mood was incredibly depressing. It was a silent ride with not even music playing. Elkins lived in the woods of Manning away from everything and everyone. We parked along the private driveway and made our way up to the cabin on foot. Sam picked the lock and soon we were all in.

“Looks like the maid didn’t come today,” Dean quipped.

“Dude,” Sam scolded.

“I found Elkins journal!” Aiden called.

“Damn, this thing dates back to the sixties,” Dean whistled.

“We should take it,” I suggested. “It could be helpful.”

“We’ll grab it on the way out,” Sam said.

I nodded and walked around shinning my flashlight around looking for any possible leads. I pushed open the door to his study and winced. The entire place was ransacked. There were papers and books all over the floor, along with a bookcase blocking the door. My stomach rolled as I saw the blood all over the floor. I shinned the light up and saw that the skylight was broken, both windows.

“Guys!” I called.

“Looks like he put up a hell of a fight,” Dean grimaced.

“And it looks like whatever attacked him, was more than one,” Sam said.

I watched Dean crouch down and rub the floor. It looked like there were scratches all over the place.

“Death throws?” Aiden guessed.

“Maybe,” Dean shrugged.

We all watched as Dean grabbed a piece of paper from the desk and place it on the floor before rubbing a pencil across the paper. He lifted it up and his expression darkened.

“Or maybe a message,” Dean said before handing the paper to Sam, “Look familiar?”

“Three letters, six digits,” Sam stated

“The location and combination of a post office box,” Aiden said.

“A mail drop?” I scoffed.

“Just like Dad does it,” Dean stated.

We all looked at each other and simultaneously shrugged. I saw Sam grab Elkin’s journal before we ran out of the house and back to the impala. We headed back towards town, looking for the post office. When we found it, Sam and Dean went to find whatever could be in the post office box.

“This is so messed up,” Aiden told me.

“I just can’t believe he’s dead,” I sighed.

“Hey, you okay?” Aiden asked.

“I’m fine,” I replied. “They’re coming.”

“JW?” Sam was saying as Sam and Dean got back into the impala. “You think? John Winchester?

I don’t know,” Dean muttered. “Should we open it?”

Before anyone could respond, someone knocked on Dean’s window. Dean jumped while the rest of us looked shocked.

“Dad?” I whispered.

It was my father alright and he had just appeared out of nowhere. Then, like he hadn’t been missing for months, he slid into the back of the impala. I gave him some room slipping closer to Aiden. Sam looked shocked. The rest of us were confused.

“Dad?” Dean asked again.

“Hello boys, Hailey,” Dad greeted.

“Dad, what’s going on?” Aiden asked. “We’ve been looking for you, for months!”

“I heard the news about Daniel,” Dad stated ignoring Aiden’s question too which, Aiden turned to me and rolled his eyes. I shook my head. I might want to know what Dad had been doing all this time, but I also wanted to know what had killed Daniel. “I got here as fast as I could. I saw the four of you up at his place.”

“Why didn’t you come in, Dad?” Sam asked.

“You know why,” Dad explained. “I needed to make sure you guys weren’t followed by anyone or anything. Nice job of covering your tracks by the way.”

“We learn from the best,” Dean smirked.

“I should look at that,” Dad stated, indicating the letter in Dean’s hand. “If you’re reading this I’m already dead. That son of a bitch, he had it the whole time.”

“What is it?” Dean asked.

“When you guys were searching the place did you see an antique? A colt revolver?” Dad questioned. “Did you see it?”

“There was an old case, but it was empty,” Dean answered.

“They have it,” Dad growled.

“You mean whatever killed Elkins?” Dean prodded.

“We have to pick up the trail,” Dad ordered getting out of the impala.

“Wait,” Sam called. “You want us to come with you?”

“If Elkins was telling the truth, we have to find this gun,” Dad explained.

“The gun?” Aiden asked. “Why?”

“Because it’s important,” Dad answered. “That’s why.”

“We don’t even know what these things are yet,” Sam responded.

“They were what Daniel Elkin’s killed best…Vampires,” Dad stated.

“What?” I gasped.

“Vampires?” Dean repeated.

“I thought there was no such thing,” Aiden said.

“You didn’t even mention them, Dad,” Sam whispered.

“I thought Elkins and others had wiped them out,” Dad sighed. “I was wrong.”

“Where are you going?” Aiden asked.

“I have a motel room,” Dad said.

The car was once again silent as we followed after Dad’s behemoth of a truck. We pulled off at the first motel room we saw. Dean parked the impala next to the truck and we all unloaded our duffels and the weapons bag. Once we were all settled Aiden, Dean, Sam, and I lounged on the bed as Dad ran through what we all needed to know about Vampires. Crosses didn't repel them. They couldn't walk in the sun unless they wore a lapis lazuli ring. If you took that off, they would burn. The stake through the heart was also true. You could also cut off their head. They need fresh blood to survive. Vampires were once people, so you won’t know it’s a vampire until it’s too late.

We needed sleep or at least I did. I leaned back resting my head on the pillow as Aiden settled in next to me. Sam and Dean were on the other bed and soon we were all fast asleep. Dad was keeping watch, while also listening in on the police scanner. After what may have been, only an hour or two we got something.

“Guys!” Dad called swatting at our feet to rouse us. “Let’s go. I picked up a police call. “

“What happened?” Sam asked.

“A couple called 9-1-1, they found a body in the street. When the cops got there everyone was missing,” Dad explained, “it’s the vampires.”

“How do you know?” Sam questioned.

“Just follow me okay?” Dad replied.

I yawned as I got up pulling a zip-up hoodie over my tee shirt. Sam and Aiden were putting on their jackets, while Dean was tying his boots.

“Vampires,” Dean mumbled. “Gets funnier every time I hear it.”

We all piled into the impala as Dad got into the truck we followed the truck once more until we found the batch of police cars around where everyone went missing. We all got out of the car but unlike normal where we would question the police on what was going on together, Dad went by himself and Sammy wasn’t pleased with being left behind.

I was fine not talking to the cops as far as I was concerned they got in our way. The only laws we broke were to save other people; they didn’t see it that way. I also didn’t like their superior to thou attitude, it was annoying. When it looked like we’d be waiting longer than normal I climbed on the impala and sat on the roof, ignoring Dean’s glares. I was one hundred twenty pounds soaking wet, I wasn’t going to hurt the car by sitting on it. Dean rolled his eyes and went back to watching Dad.

“I don’t see why we couldn’t have gone over with him,” Sam muttered.

“You're joking?” I groaned.

I honestly couldn’t believe that Sam and Dad were already getting annoyed with each other. This had to be a new record or something.

“Hailey,” Dean warned.

“What?” I demanded. “It’s starting.”

“What’s starting?” Sam asked.

“Incoming,” Aiden whispered.

We all turned and watched as Dad approached.

“What do we got?” Dean called.

“It’s them all right,” Dad said. “It looks like they’re heading west. We have to double back to get around the detour.”

“How can you be so sure?” Sam questioned.

“Sam,” Dean reproached.

“I just want to be sure we’re going in the right direction,” Sam retorted.

“We are,” Dad stated.

“How do you know?” Sam challenged.

“I found this,” Dad said as he handed Dean something.

“It’s a vampire fang?” Dean muttered.

“No, they have teeth the second set descends when they attack,” Dad explained. “Any more questions?”

Sam didn’t answer, not that he could, Dad had proof. I rolled my eyes; the whole interchange between Dad and Sam was very reminiscent of the hunts right before Sam went off to school. Dad would find information, Sam would challenge it, and then Dad would basically bite his head off. A very fun-working environment, really.

“All right let’s get out of here, we’re losing daylight,” Dad ordered. He looked up at my perch on top of the impala and frowned, “Hailey, get off of the car and Dean, why don’t you touch up it up before it rusts? I wouldn’t have given you the damn thing if I thought you were going to ruin it.”

Dean and I exchanged irritated looks as I jumped down from the car. This was the exact reason why Sam mouthing off to Dad affected all of us: because it left Dad angry as hell and taking it out on the rest of us. Aiden and I slipped into the back seat as Sam and Dean got up front. We were once again following after the truck.

“Some vampires nest in groups of eight to ten,” Dean read. “Smaller groups are sent out to hunt for food. Victims are taken to the nest where the pack keeps them alive bleeding them for days or weeks. I wonder if that’s what happened to that 9-1-1 couple.”

“That’s probably what Dad’s thinking,” Aiden shrugged.

“Guess it's out of the question for him to tell us what he thinks,” Sam muttered.

“So, it is starting,” Dean sighed.

“What?” Sam demanded. “What’s starting?”

“Sam, we’ve been looking for Dad for months and now we’re not with him for more than a couple of hours and there’s static already?”

“No,” Sam huffed.

“Yeah right,” I muttered.

“Hailey,” Dean warned.

“Look, I’m happy he’s okay,” Sam responded. “And, I’m happy we’re all together.”

“You have a funny way of showing it,” I mumbled.

 _“Hailey Jade,”_ Dean growled.

I stiffened because I was very familiar with that tone. It was almost an exact replica of Dad’s when we were nearing the end of his patience levels. I knew then that it was better to keep my mouth shut, there were normally some very sore results if I pushed Dean any further than I had already.

“But,” Sam continued shooting me a dark look, “It’s just the way he treats us like we’re children. He barks orders at us, Dean. He expects us to follow them without question. He keeps us on some crap need-to-know deal.”

“He does what he does for a reason,” Dean retorted.

“What reason?” Sam scoffed.

“Our job!” Dean responded. “There’s no time to argue. No margin for error. It’s just the way the old man runs things.”

“Yeah, well, maybe it worked when we were all kids but not anymore,” Sam fumed. “I mean are you telling me that you’re cool just falling into line and letting him run the whole show?”

At that, I looked at Dean and I could tell Aiden was too. We had all had our bouts of insubordination or at least Sam, Aiden, and I had. But, I couldn’t recall one time where Dean fought against what Dad had ordered. It was actually a confusing situation and I rationalized it this way. If Dad and Dean both gave me an order, but they were conflicting I’d probably be more likely to follow, Dean’s order that than Dad’s. Why? Well, Dean had been by my side through everything hunting or no. It had been Dean who gave me the Facts-of-Life talk; while it was completely awkward he did it anyway. He had, for as long as I could remember been the person I ran to when I got hurt or when Aiden was picking on me or when I just needed to be comforted, even when Dad was home I ran to Dean. Even though Dad was still my father he wasn’t really there for me when I was growing up, but Dean always was. I knew without a doubt that Aiden and Sam probably felt the Sam way. Dean was like our father and older brother all wrapped up into one. It might’ve been messed up to some, but Dad was more my drill sergeant, he trained us, molded us into good hunters and he did love us, but I never really saw him, and that made all the difference in the world.

“If that’s what it takes,” Dean stated.

Aiden and I exchanged glances and I knew, right then, that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t believe that. Dean was loyal to Dad, we all were but Dad just didn’t seem to notice that we were all hunters in our own right. Sure, we didn’t have the experience Dad did, but we were good.  It was quiet for a while after that until Dean got a phone call. It was obvious that Dad was on the other line after a quick conversation; Dean hung up the phone and turned to Sam.

“Turn off at the next exit,” Dean ordered.

“Why?” Sam hissed.

"Dad thinks we have the vampires trail,” Dean shrugged obviously not catching the anger in Sam’s voice or he chose to ignore it.

“How?” Sam insisted.

“I don’t know, he didn’t say,” Dean answered.

Sam didn’t say a word, but I knew that didn’t sit well with him. It was obvious from the way his fingers tightened on the steering wheel and he suddenly floored the engine passing Dad’s truck completely. _‘Okay, so maybe wants to be first off the exit?’ I thought and hoped._ I was proven wrong when just as we were a few feet away from the truck, Sam swerved cutting Dad off completely, by blocking the road. Dad swerved just in time to avoid hitting us, but Sam didn’t let that slow him down because he was already out of the impala. Dad was climbing out of the truck and Aiden, Dean, and I was rushing to stop this whole thing.

“Oh, crap, here we go,” Dean muttered before yelling, “Sam!”

“What the hell was that?” Dad demanded.

“We need to talk,” Sam demanded once Dad had gotten close enough.

“About what?” Dad asked.

“About everything!” Sam shouted, “Where are we going, Dad? What’s the big deal about this gun? Where’ve you been?”

“Sammy, come on, we can Q and A after we kill all the vampires.” Dean soothed.

It was exactly like every fight that Sam and Dad got into. It was a dance that someone could set their watch by. Sam and Dad would start to go at it, Dean would attempt to diffuse the situation while Aiden and I watched helplessly, more often than not.

“Your brother’s right, we don’t have time for this,” Dad responded.

“Bullshit!” Sam retorted. “We never have time, do we Dad? You disappear without any warning, except to leave Dean a message that we’re all in danger and then you’re missing for months. You could’ve been dead, Dad! We were looking everywhere for you, but you fell off the grid. Now, suddenly we’re in the same place and it’s obvious that something big is going down and we want to know what!”

“Sam!” Aiden complained

‘ _Great, way to throw the rest of us under the bus, Sammy,’ I thought, cause last I checked we weren’t yelling at Dad, you were.’_

 “Get back in the car,” Dad ordered.

“No.” Sam snapped.

Whoa, Sam had some major nerve stepping up to Dad when he was this pissed. If I wasn’t completely terrified that I was about to be down a brother, I would’ve been impressed.

“I said get back in the damn car,” Dad shouted.

Now, that was the origin of the voice that Dean had used on me earlier. And Sam still wasn’t backing down. This is where it crossed the line from brave into suicidal. Not a lot of people said ‘no’ to John Winchester and lived to tell the tale.

“Yeah. And I said no.” Sam yelled

“All right, you made your point, tough guy,” Dean intervened attempting to soothe and stop the fight, “Look, we’re all tired. We can talk about this later. Sammy, I mean it, come on.”

Dean pushed Sam backward to the impala and I foolishly thought the fight was over. But nope, Sam just had to be the one to say the last word.

“This is why I left in the first place,” Sam growled under his breath.

“What’d you say?” Dad demanded.

Sam turned back around to face Dad head-on, “You heard me.”

“Yeah. You left!” Dad screamed. “Your brothers, sister and I, we needed you. You walked away, Sam, you walked away!” He grabbed at Sammy’s shirt.

“Stop it, both of you!” Dean snapped.

“You were the one who told me not to come back, Dad. You’re the one who closed that door, not me! You were just pissed off you couldn’t control me anymore!” Sam shouted looking close to tears.

“ _Stop it!_ ” I cried.

I gasped when Sam and Dad went flying back to land against the impala and the truck respectively. It was obviously no doing of theirs because Sam and Dad still looked like they wanted to tear into each other but they were pinned in place. That’s when I realized what had happened. I had gotten so upset over the fight that my powers had intervened. Oh, god, oh shit, _oh no_. 

I looked at Aiden who really wasn’t surprised after all; I had thrown him into a wall before. Sam already knew, as did Dad. That left Dean. I turned and cautiously looked at Dean, he seemed shocked and confused.

“Hailey,” Dad called sounding more like my father instead of the man who had been screaming at Sam moments before. “Baby, it’s okay.”

“What?” Dean growled before turning to me, “You did that?”

I couldn’t move, I couldn’t breathe. Dean still looked more confused than anything, but I could sense that this whole thing didn’t sit right with him. I knew it wouldn’t. With the range of emotions I was feeling my abilities didn’t know how to react, or so it seemed because the force field or whatever that was keeping Sam and Dad away from each other fell away.

“Hailey, it’s okay,” Dad soothed.

“You all knew about this?” Dean demanded turning from confused to angry in a tenth of a second. “All of you?”

“Son we’ll talk about this later,” Dad replied.

I didn’t see Dean’s reaction to that because despite my best intentions I burst into tears. Without thinking about where I was or what exactly was out there, I turned and ran. I should say try to run because Aiden intercepted me almost immediately. I squirmed in his grasp for a few moments then gave up my squirming instead to cry into Aiden’s chest. Aiden squeezed me tightly, his arms firmly around me as he murmured nonsensical things to calm me down.

But there was no calming me down. I had tried my hardest to keep this new part of me a secret only for it to just come out anyway. Dean was never going to look at me the same way. I had screwed everything up.

 


	8. Fear in the Unexpected

I had messed up so badly this time. So, much so that I was in Dad’s truck as the impala trailed behind us. From the look on Dean’s face, he wasn’t even close to happy that he’d have to wait even longer for explanations on what exactly had happened back there. But, we had job to do and we should finish it before Dean tries to kill me.

Dad seemed to know exactly where the vampires were. It was in the middle of broad daylight, so while vampires wouldn’t die from sun exposure it still hurt them. We were staking out the barn when we saw an old mustang pull up. The door opened and a guy with shaggy black hair held open the door.

“Son of a bitch,” Dean hissed. “They’re really not afraid of the sun.”

“They do sleep during the day,” Dad told us. “But that doesn’t mean they won’t wake up.”

“So, I guess walking right in isn’t our best option,” Dean scoffed.

“Actually,” Dad smirked. “That’s the plan.”

I fought an eye roll at that. Dad could be very hypocritically when he wanted to be. After all, God help us if we’re reckless on a hunt. But, if Dad feels nearly suicidal, hey, that’s okay. It was annoying but just another way the old man ran things. We got up out of our crouches and walked back to the car. Aiden handed me a machete before placing his through his belt loops. Sam mirrored him, while Dean already had his good to go.

“Hey, Dad, we have another machete if you need one,” Dean offered.

“Think I’m okay,” Dad smiled, “Thanks.”

“Whoa,” Dean breathed.

Whoa was right. Dad’s truck was amazing it was sleek and safely hidden. The weapons case was extremely organized and hidden in a briefcase like thing. It made the impala look like a disorganized mess, which it was. Then again Dad always was ten times more organized than the rest of us, granted he was one person to our four, making it ten times easier to stay organized.

“So, you kids really wanna know about this colt?” Dad asked.

“Yes, sir,” Sam replied, answering for all of us.

“It’s just a story,” Dad started, “A legend really. Well, I thought it was. I never really believed it until I read Daniel’s letter. Back in 1835 and Hailey’s comet was overhead, the same night those men died at the Alamo, Samuel Colt made a gun, a special gun. He made it for a hunter, a man like us only on horseback. The story goes he made thirteen bullets. This hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared the gun along with him. Somehow, Daniel got his hands on it. They say this gun can kill anything.”

“Kill anything like Supernatural anything?” Dean asked.

“Like the demon?” Sam responded.

“Yeah, like the demon,” Dad said. “Ever since I picked up its trail, I’ve been looking for a way to destroy that thing. Find the gun, we may have it.”

It was a weird thing after eighteen whole years of looking for this thing and ways to kill it; we could finally find a breakthrough. I didn’t know quite how to feel but I wouldn’t feel anything until Azazel was dead. Until then we had a nest of vampires. We waited an hour before making our way towards the barn. Dad gently pushed open these wooden windows and climbed through. Sam followed, then Aiden, then Dean, then me.

There were hammocks everywhere. I counted at least nine vampires. Luckily, they were all sleeping. We moved around scooping out the place as Dad went on ahead. I was watching where I stepped when I saw Dean’s foot hit a bottle. He moved quickly bumping into a sleeping vampire in the process. Luckily the vampire didn’t wake up.

“Dean!” Sam whispered.

All three of us spun around to look at Sam. He was crouched down next to a girl who had blood all over the front of her. As Sam was untying her I saw a cage and gestured to Dean. Dean walked over and attempted to open the cage, breaking one of the hinges as quietly as he could. Aiden was covering Dean’s back while I covered Sam. I watched as the girl began to stir.

“Hey, hey,” Sam soothed. “I’m here to help you.”

What happened next was not something we had anticipated. She began screaming at the top of her lungs, voice high pitched and grating. That was definitely something we didn’t want to happen.

“Sam!” Dean shouted as the vampires woke up.

“Hails!” Aiden called grabbing my wrist.

“Guys run!” came Dad’s voice.

We reacted instantaneously each of us bursting into a dead sprint towards the entrance. The vampires were following us but once we hit the outside we were home free. We darted back towards the woods only stopping when Dean did.

“Dad?” Dean called when Dad didn’t answer his voice got more frantic, “Dad!”

I smacked Dean’s arm drawing his attention to where Dad was running towards us. We moved to get into the car when Dad’s voice stopped us.

“They won’t follow,” Dad said. “They’ll wait ‘til tonight. Once a vampire gets your scent it’s for life.”

“What the hell do we do know?” Dean asked.

“You find the nearest funeral home,” Dad responded. “That’s what.”

“Dad?” Aiden asked.

“Dead man’s blood is like poison to them,” Dad explained. “Hailey, Dean, find the nearest funeral home. Aiden and Sam, you’re coming back to the room with me.”

“Is that a good idea?” Sam asked.

“Sure, Sammy,” Dean grinned but that smile was far from friendly.

I didn’t have any other choice but to get in the impala. I climbed into the passenger seat as Dean got into the driver’s side. We had seen the funeral home on the way into town, so it wasn’t all that hard to find it again. I abruptly found us stopped in a random parking lot near the funeral home.

“Get out of the car,” Dean ordered.

“Dean, I…” I began.

“Now,” Dean snapped.

Were we really about to have this showdown in a parking lot? Granted it was an almost deserted parking lot but still. That was one of the most annoying things about living life on the road. Sometimes family disagreements took place in public where anyone could see. In the past eighteen years of my life, I had been chewed out and swatted in public along with my brothers and no matter how old I got, it was embarrassing especially if someone actually saw.

It would be absolutely suicidal to ignore Dean’s order now. But, before I could obey the order Dean had ripped open my door and grabbed me, lifting me out of the car only to slam me against it seconds later. The air whooshed out of my lungs before I could even gasp.

“Dean,” I whimpered. “Please, I can explain.”

“Really?” Dean yelled. “You can explain what happened back there?”

“I…”

“Or can you explain the fact that Dad, Sam, and Aiden seem pretty damn okay with the fact that Dad and Sam were thrown into cars when no one was touching either of them?”

“I…uh...”

“Or just maybe you can explain to me why I’m the only one who doesn’t know what the fuck that was back there!” Dean yelled getting centimeters away from my face.

“Dean,” I whispered.

“You said you can explain so explain,” Dean growled.

“Can you, uh, put me down?” I asked.

“No,” Dean growled. “Now tell me what the fuck is going on?”

“I don’t know much but what I do know is that there are others like me,” I sighed. “Sometimes the demon, Azazel, visits my dreams, he says that he has plans for me and children like me.”

“And?” Dean prodded.

“Aiden found out when I threw him against the wall when he was about to beat my boyfriend’s face in,” I muttered. “Dad knew all along and I told Sam back at that motel room a day or two ago.”

“You weren’t going to tell me, were you?” Dean asked.

“No, I was just waiting for the right time,” I responded.

“Oh,” Dean growled. “Because Aiden told me that you said that he wasn’t allowed to say anything because what was it? Oh, right, that I only see things in black or white and you would be shades of gray.”

“Dean…I…”

“Shut up, Hailey,” Dean ordered. “And listen closely. You’re my little sister, there isn’t anything that’s going to change that. But, so help me god, if you keep something like this from me again, you’ll regret it.”

“I’m sorry,” I sighed.

Dean rolled his eyes before grabbing my wrist and pulling me into his chest. I snuggled into him for a moment before I took a step backward and followed Dean into the funeral home. We had a lot of time to kill apparently it took a little while to bleed the dead person.

“You think this is enough?” Dean asked.

I looked over at the bottle in Dean’s hand and grimaced, “Yeah, probably.”

“Then let’s go,” Dean shrugged.

I ran after Dean as we floored it back to the motel room. When we arrived I saw that Sam, Aiden, and dad were obviously talking about something when we walked in. Especially since it stopped once we walked in.

“What took you so long?” Dad asked frowning at us.

“You will not believe the amount of security they have,” Dean smirked.

“Yeah, I mean they’re already dead,” I laughed.

“Did you get it?” Dad prodded.

“Of course,” Dean replied putting the bottle of blood on the table.

“You know what to do,” Dad said.

That was when we all started getting ready. Aiden, Sam, and I loaded the crossbows making sure to dip everyone in the dead man’s blood. Once all the crossbows were set and the machetes were back on our waists we drove out to a random street. I waited in the woods along with Sam, Aiden, and Dad as Dean pretended to be checking the engine of the impala. Our trap worked hook, line, and sinker as we saw three vampires’ approach.

“Car trouble?” The girl vampire asked. “Let me give you a lift. Take you back to my place.”

“I’ll pass,” Dean smirked. “I normally draw the line at necrophilia.”

“Ooh,” The girl vampire hissed before backhanding Dean across the jaw. Before Dean could rise she grabbed him around the jaw and hoisted him up.

“I normally don’t get this friendly until the second date,” Dean snarked, “but…”

“We could have some fun,” The girl vampire laughed. “I always enjoy making new friends.”

The vampire then brought Dean back down and kissed him soundly.

“Sorry, I don’t stay with a chick that long,” Dean replied. “Definitely not eternity.”

That was when we all reacted shooting one arrow at each vampire.

“Damn it,” The girl growled. “Barely even stings.”

“Give it time, sweetheart,” Dad smirked. “Arrow’s soaked in dead man’s blood. It’s like poison to you isn’t it?”

Just like magic, the girl swayed on her feet, falling backward before Dean caught her.

“Load her up,” Dad ordered. “I’ll take care of this one.”

Dad then spun around taking his machete out of its holder. I watched as he looked at the vampire quizzically before dealing the deathblow that left the vamp without a head.  Dad then met us by where the impala and the truck where waiting. Dean had already put the vampire in Dad’s truck.

“Stash this on the fire,” Dad told me. “It’s saffron, skunks, cabbage, and trillium, it’ll block our scent and hers until we’re ready."

“Ugh, Dad, this stuff smells like Aiden’s feet,” I grimaced.

“Hey!” Aiden growled.

“You’re right it reeks,” Sam winced.

"Dust your clothes with the ashes, and you’ll stand a chance of not being detected,” Dad replied.

I tossed it on the fire and fought my gagging reflex as the whole place began to smell.

“You sure this will work?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” Dad nodded. “Vampires mate for life. She means more to the leader than the gun. But the blood sickness will wear off soon. So, you don’t have a lot of time.”

“A half-hour ought to do it,” Sam responded.

“Then I want you out of the area as fast as you can,” Dad ordered.

“But…” Sam started.

“Whoa, Dad you can’t take care of them all yourself,” Dean interrupted.

“I’ll have her and the colt,” Dad said.

“But after?” Sam asked. “We’re going to meet up right? Use the gun together? Right?”

Dad looked away and in doing so answered Sam’s question. He wasn’t planning on us being together for the big fight, he wanted to do it himself.

“You’re leaving again,” Aiden whispered.

“You can’t treat us like this!” I cried.

“Like what?” Dad asked.

“Like children,” Sam said.

“You are my children,” Dad replied. “I’m trying to keep you safe.”

“Dad with all due respect but, uh, that’s a bunch of crap,” Dean said.

I think that my eyes bugged out of my head when Dean said that. Dean never stood up to Dad like that. Insubordination was more Sam’s area of expertise than Dean. I looked back to see Dad’s reaction and saw that he wasn’t digging the new and improved attitude of Dean Winchester very much. Dean had never respected authority figures, Dad is one of the only exceptions and now it seemed that even with respect, Dean wasn’t going to blindly follow Dad anymore.

“Excuse me?” Dad growled.

“You know what we’ve been hunting,” Dean continued. “Hell, before Sam and Aiden came back you were quick to push Hailey and I into all kind of hunts. You can’t be that worried about keeping us safe.”

“It’s not the same thing, Dean,” Dad sighed.

“Then what is it?” Dean asked. “Why do you want us out of this fight?”

“This demon is a bad son of a bitch,” Dad explained. “I can’t make the same moves if I’m worried about keeping all of you alive.”

“You mean you can’t be as reckless,” Dean fired back.

“Look, I don’t expect to make it out of this fight in one piece,” Dad said. “Your mother’s death damn near tore me apart. I can’t watch my children die too. I won’t.”

“What happens if you die?” I whispered.

“Dad, what happens if you die and we could’ve done something?” Aiden continued.

“I’ve been thinking,” Dean said. “Sammy’s right on this one. We should do this together. We’re stronger as a family. We just are, you know it.”

“We’re running out of time,” Dad growled. “You do your jobs and you get out of the area. That’s an order.”

I frowned, knowing that no matter how much Dean’s attitude towards Dad had changed, our father could still shut us down with an order, especially a direct one. I followed my brothers to the impala as we began to drive back to the woods by the barn. We watched as Dad’s truck drove on the nearby interstate. It only took a few minutes for some of the vampires to leave and then we were ready to go.

We broke in the same way we had earlier that day. We all gathered together, and Dean indicated that we should split up. Nodding we all moved different ways. I had my machete out and at the ready when I heard Dean say, ‘Boo’. I rolled my eyes as I walked back to the cage that Dean had found. Aiden and Sam were already there and waiting. Sam took the crowbar and broke the rest of the hinges.

Once the door was open we helped the seven people in there. After making sure that they were okay and conscious we called for an ambulance. As we were walking back to the car, Aiden stopped us.

“We can’t just leave Dad all by himself,” Aiden said.

“He ordered us too,” I replied.

“So what?” Aiden demanded. “We’re stronger as a family and he will need our help.”

“Let’s go,” Dean shrugged.

We all crawled into the impala traveling on the same interstate that Dad was on earlier. We parked far enough away that we could ambush the vampires. Armed once again with crossbows we arrived on the scene just in time to see Dad get thrown against the open door. The window shattered on impact, not that it mattered, what did matter was the fact that Dad wasn’t getting up.

Dean raised his arm then lowered it forward. The order was clear, attack now. I fired my crossbow at the two vampires close to me while Dean, Sam, and Aiden fired at the other vampires. I went to attack the leader when he knocked me flat on my ass. Before I recovered he grabbed me turning me so that my back was against his chest as his arm was slowly strangling me. Aiden lunged grabbing my fallen machete.

“Don’t! I’ll break her neck,” The vampire threatened. “Put the blade down.”

Aiden looked at Dean and Sam who slowly nodded. Aiden dropped the machete, instead choosing to glare at the vampire that had me in his grip.

“You people. Why can’t you just leave us alone? We have as much right to live as you do.”

“I don’t think so,” Dad growled.

The vampire turned and because he was still holding me I turned to. I reacted once I noticed that Dad had the colt. Was Dad about to waste a bullet on this vampire just because he was trying to kill me? I prayed this worked as I focused hard. I knew it was working when the vampire’s hold slipped. I flung him into the ground. I saw the machete in the air and caught it before chopping off the vampire’s head. All of this happened in the space of two minutes.

“Luther!” The girl vampire screamed glaring at me furiously.

“No, Kate!” Another vampire cried grabbing Kate’s arm and pushing her into the car. They took off leaving us alone.

“Hailey Jade, what the hell were you thinking?” Dad demanded.

“You were about to waste a bullet on me,” I responded. “I reacted as fast as I could.”

“Let’s clean all this up,” Dad replied, glaring at me for a second.

Twenty minutes later the bodies were burned, leaving absolutely no trace of what had happened. We were packing up at the motel when Dad came into the room. The taillights of the truck glowed behind him as he opened the door.

“So, guys,” Dad started walking fully into the room.

We all turned around from backing our duffels to face our father. It wasn’t a time to laugh or smile with the look on Dad’s face, but I found it amusing that we were facing him in age order going from Dean to me.

“Yes, sir?” Sam asked.

“You ignored a direct order back there,” Dad stated.

“Yes, sir,” Sam said again.

“We saved your ass,” Dean responded.

Wow, Dean really was embracing this new attitude of his. My jaw almost dropped to the floor and then it really did when Dad didn’t explode.

“You’re right.” Dad sighed

“I am?” Dean asked.

“He is?” Aiden and I gasped.

“It scares the hell out of me,” Dad continued. “You four are all I got but I guess we are stronger as a family. So, we go after this damn thing, together.”

“Yes, sir,” We all chorused unable to hide our smiles.

Dad watched as we finished packing, the room’s atmosphere wasn’t something I had encountered before. It wasn’t tense, but it wasn’t calm either. The air was literally shimmering with anticipation. We had the colt, we were all together, and now all we had to do was find the demon and gank him before it could destroy any other family.

 


	9. Know Your Enemy

We set up home base in Manning, Colorado. We weren’t on the run from anything major and it seemed as good of a place as any to hold up as we learned whatever Dad knew about Azazel.

“This is everything,” Dad said.

I bit back a sarcastic comment, knowing that it would neither be wanted or appreciated. Now was not a time for games but the way Dad said ‘everything’ as we had somehow missed something couldn’t be possible. Papers literally lined one of the walls of the motel room. Different maps, weather reports, mythology, and a huge map of the US. Dad was prepared, not a lot of people can get this kind of information together. Then again, not a lot of people were like John Winchester.

“This is everything I know,” Dad continued. “We’ve spent our entire lives searching for this demon, right? Not a trace, just nothing until about a year ago. For the first time, I picked up a trail.”

“That’s when we started splitting up.” Dean guessed. "When you let Hay and I take our own cases."

“Yeah, that’s right. The demon must have come out of hiding or hibernation.” Dad said.

“What about the trail?” Aiden asked

“It starts in Arizona, then New Jersey, California, houses burning down to the ground. It’s going after families exactly how it went after us,” Dad explained.

“Families with infants?” Sam asked.

“Yeah” Dad nodded. “The night of the kid’s six-month birthday.”

“I was six months old that night?” I whispered.

“Exactly six months,” Dad said.

I could feel my brother’s exchange looks with each other. While Sam has abilities too it was me who led the demon back to visit the Winchester family. Only this time he took our mother.

“So, basically, this demon is going after these kids for some reason, the same way it came for me? So, Mom’s death, all of this, is because of me?” I whispered.

“We don’t know that,” Dean replied.

“Really?” I growled. “Because I’d say we’re pretty damn sure, Dean.”

“What happened to mom was not your fault,” Aiden snapped.

“Yeah, you’re right, it’s not my fault, but it’s my problem!” I shouted.

“No, it’s not your problem, it’s our problem!” Sam retorted sharply.

“That’s enough,” Dad ordered.

We all visibly deflated and just like that the fight was over. Even though I could tell that each of my brothers was irritated at what I had said, we refocused on the task of hand.

“So, why is it doing it?” Sam asked. “What does it want?”

“I wish I had more answers, I do, I’ve always been one step behind it,” Dad sighed. “I’ve never gotten there in time to save…”

“How do we find it before it hits again?” Dean questioned.

“There're signs,” Dad explained. “It took me a while to see the pattern, but in the days before these fires signs crop up in an area, cattle deaths, temperature fluctuations, electrical storms. I went back and checked, and…”

“The same thing happened in Lawrence,” Aiden whispered.

“The week before your mother died,” Dad said. “And, these signs, they’re starting again?”

“Where?” Sam asked.

“Salvation, Iowa,” Dad said.

“Well, what are we waiting for?”  Dean stated. “Let’s get a move on.”

We all grabbed our duffels and walked out to the car. Once we were loaded up, I went back and helped Dad take down all the papers. Once they were all put away safely I followed Dad back out of the motel room. Only Dad got into his truck and I climbed into the backseat of the impala.

It was another silent ride as we followed Dad into Iowa. It seemed like we were all getting our game faces on after all this was the big hunt, the one we’ve been waiting for. Just when we were nearing Salvation, Dad pulled his truck over to the shoulder of the road. Dean followed after him and we all got out of the car.

“Damn it,” Dad growled.

“What is it?” Dean asked.

“Son of a bitch!” Dad hissed.

“Dad, what’s wrong?” I questioned.

“I just got a call from Caleb,” Dad told us.

“Is he okay?” Dean asked.

“He’s fine,” Dad whispered. “Jim Murphy is dead.”

“Pastor Jim?” Sam clarified.

“How?” Aiden asked.

“Throat was slashed, he bled out,” Dad sighed. “Caleb said they found traces of sulfur at Jim’s place.”

“A demon?” Aiden whispered.

“The demon?” Dean questioned.

“I don’t know,” Dad sighed, sadly. “Could be he just got careless, he slipped up. Maybe the demon knows we’re getting close.”

“What do we do now?” Sam asks.

“Now we act like every second count,” Dad stated. “There are two hospitals and a health center in this county. We’ll split up and cover more ground. I want records. I want a list of every infant that’s going to be sixth months old in the next week.”

“Dad, that could be dozens of kids,” Sam protested. “How the hell are we gonna know which ones the right one?”

“We’ll check ‘em all, that’s how,” Dad retorted. “You got any better ideas.

“No, sir,” Sam frowned.

My brothers and father turned to go back into our separate cars when I saw Dad still.

“Dad?” I called.

It was a moment before Dad turned back to face us. For just a second you could see his game face slip, and that scared the crap out of me. But, it was Jim Murphy, who we’ve known for years and years, maybe even longer than Missouri. It was because of Matt Murphy, pastor Jim’s brother that we met Pastor Jim originally, mostly because Matt married Danielle Winchester. My father’s older sister. Together, Matt and Danielle hunted together they also had given birth to Charlotte Emily Murphy. She’s the same age as Aiden, she is also invested in the family business. But, unlike the family, she hunts by herself, and Dad hasn’t been able to convince her to do otherwise. Anyway, Charlotte, otherwise known as Charlie, had tied my family and hers together, which was why Jim’s death hit me hard. I could tell it hit Dad too and most likely my brothers, as well.

“Yeah,” Dad cleared his throat, “It’s Jim. You know, I can’t…”

I tried to take a step closer to my father, but I felt Aiden’s grip on the back of my shirt.

“This ends, now. I’m ending it. I don’t care what it takes,” Dad growled.

Before anyone could comment, Dad had gotten back in the truck and slammed the door. I didn’t look at any of my brothers as we got back in the impala and headed into town. While it was quiet on the way to Salvation, it was dead silent now. It was at times like this where silence really wasn’t helping, it gave me too much room to think.

Dad had said it best. It was Jim and we just, we couldn’t. I never thought that Jim would die, let alone from a demon attack. He might’ve been family, but it was no reason to include him on any of his. And what about Charlie she had lost so much. Almost, on cue, my phone began to ring. I pulled it open and answered it.

“Hello?” I whispered.

“Hailey?” Charlie’s voice whimpered. “He’s dead.”

“I know,” I sniffed.

The heartbreaking tone of Charlie’s voice was weakening the last of my reserves trying not to cry.

“Who did this?” Charlie whispered. “They stole the last of my family.”

“We’re still here,” I responded.

“And, I love you guys, but it’s different,” Charlie cried. “I just…I can’t.”

“Charlie, please,” I pleaded.

Charlie didn’t say a word instead I heard her begin to cry softly. That was my undoing, I began to sob along with Charlie. That was until Charlie disconnected the line and I was left crying by myself.

“Hailey,” Aiden soothed. “Hailey, it’s going to be okay.”

I continued to cry, and it looked as though Dean was about to pull over, but Aiden shook his head quickly, saying ‘I got it.’ Before I could react, Aiden had pulled me across the seat and into his lap. I turned to burrow into his chest as I continued to cry. Aiden rubbed my back as I buried my face into the crook of his neck.

“It’s okay,” Aiden whispered. “We’re going to set this right.”

As I calmed back down I noticed that we had stopped out of one of the hospitals.

“Okay,” Dean sighed. “Aiden and I will cover the health center. You and Sam will cover the other hospital.”

“Okay,” I responded getting out of the car along with Sam. Aiden squeezed my wrist and I gave him a small smile. He nodded before climbing in the front seat to sit with Dean.

Sam and I watched the impala leave the parking lot. I closed the distance between Sam and I and we soon found ourselves in one of the back rooms starring at piles of folders.

“Here you go, officers,” A receptionist smiled giving us even more folders.

“Thank you,” Sam smiled.

I rolled my eyes as we went through every file as per Dad’s request.

“You okay?” Sam asked, quietly.

“Yeah,” I shrugged. “It’s just, I never expected to lose Jim this soon or at all.”

“I know,” Sam sighed. “It sucks. He was my favorite person to stay with when Dad went on hunts. He was the best Uncle we could ask for.”

“Yeah,” I whispered.

It went back to being quiet as Sam and I went through birth certificate after birth certificate. After about another hour or so we were finished and ready to meet with Dean and Aiden. Just when we got to the street, I heard Sam groan.

“Sammy?” I asked turned back around to look at him.

He stopped walking completely, wincing and grimacing in pain. I watched as Sam crouched down massaging his temples.

“Sam?” I said again laying my hand on his shoulder, but he was completely unresponsive. Judging by the dazed look in his eye he was having a vision. When it stopped Sam took off his backpack and pulled a map out.

“Train…” Sam murmured to himself.

“Sam?” I called as Sam began walking again.

I had no choice but to follow after him. I had no idea where my brother was going, only knowing that Dean was going to kill us for moving from where he had left us. I noticed that a woman with a stroller was walking down the street. I smiled but my smile fell as Sam quickly crossed the street and greeted the woman.

“Sammy, what are you doing?” I hissed.

“Hi,” Sam greeted the woman. He held the baby carriage the woman closed her umbrella. Don’t ask me what he was doing, I was still at a loss. I smiled at the women, who smiled back at me. When she turned away I glared at Sam. What was he doing?

“Thanks,” The woman responded.

“She’s gorgeous,” Sam smiled down at the baby. “Is she yours.”

“Yup,” The woman smiled lovingly down at the baby.

“Oh, wow,” Sam sighed, “Hi, I’m sorry, I’m rude. I’m Sam, this is Hailey. We just moved in up the block.”

“Oh, hey, I’m Monica,” Monica said. “This is Rosie.”

Sam and I quickly shook her hand as I gave Sam a what-the-hell look.

“Rosie?” I smiled. “Hi, Rosie.”

“Welcome to the neighborhood,” Monica said.

“Thank you,” Sam replied. “She’s such a good baby.”

“I know,” Monica beamed. I mean, she never cries. She just stares at everybody. Sometimes she looks at you, and I swear, it’s like she’s reading your mind.”

“What about you, Monica?” Sam asked. “Have you lived here long?”

“My husband I, we bought our place just before Rosie was born,” Monica explained.

“How old is she?” I questioned.

“Six months today,” Monica grinned. “It’s big, right? Growing like a weed.”

I didn’t catch the end of the conversation. I realized that Sam must have had a vision and Monica and Rosie were involved. I quickly called Dean. He and Aiden had just finished, as did Dad.

“Dean, we know where the demon will be,” I said.

“What do you mean?” Dean asked.

“I, uh, think it will be better to explain it when we’re on together,” I replied.

“Hailey,” Dean growled.

“Just trust me,” I growled. “And pick us up…please.”

Fifteen minutes later we were all in the motel room. It was the average motel room. Dad was leaning against the counter of the kitchenette. Dean was on one of the beds, Aiden was on the other. I was across the table from Sam.

“A vision?” Dad questioned

“Yes, I saw the demon burning a woman on the ceiling,” Sam sighed.

“And you think it’s gonna happen to this woman you met because?” Dad prodded.

“They happen exactly as I see them,” Sam explained.

“They started out as nightmares, and then he started having them when he was awake,” I told my father, Dean, and Aiden.

“It’s like the closer I get to anything involving the demon, the stronger the visions get,” Sam whispered.

“All right, when were you going to tell me about this?” Dad demanded.

“Aiden and I had an idea that this was happening,” Dean said. “We weren’t sure. It seems like Sam and Hailey kept their abilities a secret.”

Sam and I exchanged guilty glances.

“Something like this happens to either of you,” Dad fumed. “You pick up the phone, and you call me.”

“What?” I scoffed. “With what number? You fell off the grid completely. Besides it seems like you already know about my abilities, I’m willing to bet you knew about Sam’s too.”

“Hailey Jade, I don’t have to explain my actions to you,” Dad warned.

“Look, visions or no visions, the fact is, we know the demon is coming tonight. And this family’s gonna go through the same hell that we went through.”

“No, they’re not,” Dad responded. “No one is, ever again.”

Suddenly, Aiden’s cell phone begins to ring. We all looked at him in confusion, but he avoided our gaze. Aiden opened the phone and by the quick conversation, it wasn’t someone he wanted to talk to. The conversation didn’t get any more pleasant as Aiden handed the phone to Dad, after saying that he hadn’t seen him.

“This is John,” Dad said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Caleb? Caleb!”

My brothers and I stood up looking at Dad in concern. I could tell from the way Dad’s voice changed that whatever happened to Caleb wasn’t good.

“I’m going to kill you,” Dad seethed. “You know that?”

At this, I looked at Aiden asking him who was on the phone, but he shook his head at me.

“I said okay,” Dad growled. “I’ll bring you the Colt.”

When Dad hung up the phone he immediately went to Aiden.

“Who the hell was that?” Dad demanded.

“A girl I met at Stanford,” Aiden responded.

“Liar,” Sam growled.

“Shut up, Sam,” Aiden retorted.

“Aiden?” Dad growled. “How did you meet this girl?”

“I went on a hunt by myself,” Aiden whispered. “It was a few months before Dean came and got us. It was a simple possession I sent the demon back to hell. But, it clawed its way back out. It’s parading around as Meg Masters. She was in my Physics class.”

“Now she’s killing our friends,” Dad growled.

“Dad, what did she say?” Sam asked.

“I’m going to Lincoln,” Dad stated.

“What?” Dean demanded.

“It doesn’t seem like I have a choice,” Dad responded. “If I don’t go, a lot of people die. Our friends die.”

“Dad, the demon is coming tonight for Monica and her family,” Sam said. “That gun is all we’ve got. You can’t just hand it over.”

“Who said anything about handing it over?” Dad scoffed. “Look, besides us and a couple vampires, no one’s really seen the gun. No one knows what it looks like.”

“So, what. You’re just gonna pick up a ringer at a pawn shop?” Dean asked.

“Antique store,” Dad corrected.

“You’re gonna hand Meg a fake gun and hope she doesn’t notice?” Dean continued.

“Look, as long as it’s close, she shouldn’t be able to tell the difference,” Dad shrugged.

“Yeah, but for how long?” Dean groaned. “What happens when she figures it out?”

“I need to buy a few hours, that’s all,” Dad explained.

“You mean for us?” Sam said. “You want us to stay here and kill this demon by ourselves?”

I looked at Dad completely horrified. When Dad didn’t immediately argue against that point I realized that it was exactly what Dad needed to buy. He needed time for us to do what we all wanted to do.

“No, Sam, I want to stop losing people we love,” Dad retorted, after a moment. “I want you and Aiden to go to school, I want Dean to have a home, and I want Hailey to be a normal teenager.”

Dad then turned his back on us as his voice became choked with tears, “I want Mary alive. I just…I just want this to be over.”

We all looked at each other and that’s when I realized that all of us were on the same page. We just wanted this to be over. So, what if we were good at it. It was no way to live a life. Somewhere deep down inside I knew that this was what we were meant to do, no matter what.

I looked at my brothers as we all got up. After another brief interchange, Dad had packed up giving us some excuse of needing to take care of a few things. Once dad left, I felt the air stiffen up. I thought for a moment, realizing that the air felt familiar and it wasn’t a familiarity. There were a few times, hell, a lot of times where Sam, Aiden, and I would disobey some sort of order or something, and then that’s when the explosion happened. After all, it might’ve been Dad’s rules we broke but it was to Dean that we normally had to answer too. And that answer was normally not just a stern talking to.

I risked a glance at Dean and saw, with a sinking feeling in my stomach, that feeling was well founded. I wondered, vaguely if my cohorts in crime had realized it yet. It took a few more minutes to register with the college boys and when it did, Dean reacted.

“All of you sit down,” Dean ordered sharply. “Now.”

“Dean…I,” I tried to intercept. After all, we had a fake gun to retrieve.

“Sit,” Dean growled staring right at me, with furious green eyes.

I gulped and sat down in between Sam and Aiden. Well, if this wasn’t feeling disturbingly familiar than I didn’t know what would. Dean stood in front of us, looking for all the world like an upset father, which, I guess, he was.

I fought to figure out what I had done. Oh, right, the whole hiding my abilities thing. And, then hiding Sam’s. And, then, Aiden had hidden a hunt from all of us, breaking the most important rule of all, we don’t hunt by ourselves. The kicker to all of this was that I had already been chewed out in hiding my abilities, or so I thought.

“What the hell is the matter with you guys?” Dean demanded. “Huh? You all are keeping secrets from me?”

“Dean, we’re…” Aiden tried

“Stop right there, Ads,” Dean interrupted.

Then, just like any other group scolding the first who had spoken after we had all sat down was the first to be chewed out. It wasn’t a nice, calm conversation. It was just the way, Dean and Dad ran things, sometimes, and it wasn’t nice or coddling. But, unlike Dad, Dean knew when to employ different tactics.

“You went on a hunt by yourself?” Dean demanded glaring at Aiden, who visibly recoiled. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”

“It was only a possession,” Aiden responded.

“Only?” Dean repeated, before shouting, “Only?”

“Dean, don’t you…” Sam started.

“No,” Dean said turning his attention to Sam. “Wait your turn, Sammy, I’ll get to you in a minute.”

When Sam sighed and averted his gaze, Dean turned his attention back to Aiden.

“I had my facts straight,” Aiden explained. “It was a quick in and out. No big deal, really.”

“You don’t hunt by yourself,” Dean growled. “We taught you to be safe. You’re not safe if you go into a possession by yourself. Or did you not see what that possessed demon did to your sister?”

“That’s not the same thing!” Aiden protested.

“Really?” Dean growled.

“Yeah, that demon kidnapped, Hailey!” Aiden snapped. “I surprised that demon, exorcizing it before it even knew what happened.”

“Why didn’t you ask Sam to help you?” Dean responded.

“He was swamped with classes,” Aiden whispered. “And I knew that I could handle it by myself.”

“You’re lucky, Aiden, someone could’ve gone very, very wrong,” Dean lectured.

“I’m sorry, Dean,” Aiden sighed.

“Don’t pull something like that again, we clear?” Dean asked.

“Yeah,” Aiden said.

“Ads get the gun that Dad wanted,” Dean ordered.

“What?” Aiden responded. “That isn’t fair. They got to see me get yelled at.”

“They’ll be seeing a lot more of the same if you don’t move your ass,” Dean remarked, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

Aiden, for his part, grumbled under his breath, as he got his coat on and went to get the gun. I heard a remark about how he was twenty-one years old not twelve, but then again age didn’t seem to pull much of anything around here. Case in point? My brother who was twenty-four was about to be chewed out.

“You have visions?” Dean asked Sam.

“Yeah,” Sam shrugged. “They started a while ago.”

“It wasn’t something you thought we should know about?” Dean asked.

“I was waiting for the right time,” Sam shrugged.

“Right, because there’s always a time for telling your family that you have freaky ESP crap.”

“Hey!” Sam and I protested.

“I don’t know what you two are trying to accomplish by keeping secrets like this,” Dean growled. “If you think this is helping, you’re wrong. We don’t need to be dealing with this kind of crap right now. You can’t handle this by yourselves.”

“I’m sorry, Dean,” Sam sighed. “I know I should’ve told you. But, you have to admit this shit is weird. Even for us.”

“Which is even more of a reason why you shouldn’t be keeping this kind of stuff away from me,” Dean seethed. “Speaking of which, why the hell would you agree to the plan that Hailey proposed?”

“She made me promise,” Sam frowned shooting a glare my way. I rolled my eyes in response. Way to throw me under the bus. Because unlike Sam and Aiden, who had aged out of more physical consequences, I hadn’t.

“Yes, I know that Hailey is the instigator in all of this,” Dean replied pinning me with the same ferocious look that he had given me the day before. Great, I really was about to get chewed out for the same thing.

“Dean, she…” Sam tried.

“Had her own part to play in all of this,” Dean interrupted. “Go help, Aiden.”

“Dean,” Sam tried once more.

Dean tossed the impala’s keys to Sam, who caught them right before they smacked him in the forehead.

“Go, geek-boy,” Dean ordered, lightly. “You’ll probably be picking Ads up along the way.”

“When should we come back?” Sam asked.

“What?” I cried, outraged. “No way.”

Too most that question was completely harmless. After all, we were on a bit of a deadline with the whole evil bitch trying to kill our friend’s thing. But, that wasn’t what Sam was asking about. Sam was asking when my turn would be up.

“Half hour,” Dean answered. “Tops.”

“Okay,” Sam nodded.

I vaguely wondered why Sam hadn’t gotten chewed out quite as bad as Aiden had. But, I rationalized that hunting by yourself is a lot more dangerous than seeing things before they happen. It was also weird that my abilities seemed a lot stronger and further along than Sam’s were.

As Sam got up he squeezed my shoulder comfortingly. Although, it was a lost cause. I was not feeling remotely comfortable. Hell, part of me just wanted to cut my losses and run out of there before Dean could move. While my brothers were taller, I could almost always outrun them, and they knew it.

The last time we were all together and had gotten a lecture like this was for a prank war, years ago. It had escalated as it always does. But, I had started it and had finished it by dying Aiden’s hair pink…in permanent color. I don’t think I sat right for an entire week. And, now, it looked like the same thing was about to happen because Dean had said a half hour the last go around, too.

And, don’t think my age was about to get me out of anything. Dean had once gotten spanked on a hunt, at nineteen years old, for drinking. We weren’t supposed to be drinking when we were actually working a case. Dad had been far from happy and Dean had gotten it. So, my point being, if even Dean hadn’t escaped outgrowing the more corporal approach, I sure hadn’t. Sometimes, it really sucked to be the youngest. Especially, the youngest in a family that had an ex-marine as the patriarch, who had, in turn, passed most of his parenting techniques onto Dean. It was a simple Winchester rule, don’t screw up or you get your ass beat. It had always been that way, granted it seemed like the only person that it applied to anymore was me, wasn’t I the lucky one?

“Dean, we’ve already talked about this,” I protested once Sam had closed the motel door.

“You think that was enough?” Dean glowered.

“It isn’t fair,” I responded. “You yelled at me in public!”

“No, what’s unfair is finding out something your entire family knew about but decided not to clue you in about!” Dean seethed.

“I was going to tell you,” I retorted.

“Yeah?” Dean scoffed. “When?”

“When it was a good time,” I whispered.

“Don’t start with the same shit that Sammy tried to pull,” Dean warned.

“This is fucking bullshit, Dean!” I snapped. “I’ve already apologized and explained.”

“No, you explained how Sam, Aiden, and Dad knew before I did,” Dean corrected. “You explained and sidestepped what you knew about the demon. And, now I find out that not only do I have a sister with freaky ESP crap, but Sam also has it too?”

“It’s not fucking freaky ESP crap, Dean!” I snapped.

At this point, Dean and I were glaring at each nearly chest to chest as we yelled at each other. It was good that no one else was around, they’d try to break it up, especially with the glares that Dean and I were throwing at each other. I couldn’t really think long about what was going on because Dean had latched onto my wrist as his green eyes sparked furiously. One of the worst things I could’ve possibly done was cursed or yelled at him when he was already in parental mode, and I had done both.

“Dean let me go!” I growled.

Dean’s face hardened as his eyes went cold. He shook his head slightly back and forth and then began to drag me towards one of the beds.

“Dean, no!” I protested sharply.

I fought harder attempting to loosen the iron grip Dean had on my wrist. At the attempt to shake him off the grip tightened further. Then as if I hadn’t been fighting tooth and nail, like some sort of desperate animal caught in a trap, Dean not only managed to yank me over his knees but pulled my pants to my ankles. When I tried to get out of position he grabbed my wrists and pinned them tightly to my back. I was completely stuck and instead of calming down I went completely nuts. I was pissed at how easy Dean had restrained me and how much I hated that I was able to.

“Hailey, stop it,” Dean ordered firmly. His voice was calm and level and instead of making me calm down made me incredibly angry.

I hissed and attempted to throw myself on to the floor. Dean countered the move instantly trapping my legs in between one of his own. I was completely trapped and that was when Dean laid down his first swat. After the one, more followed fast and hard. It felt like Dean wasn’t holding anything back and I was whimpering in minutes despite myself.

Of course, I knew that this could happen eventually, Dean never handled being afraid well especially if one of us had caused it and maybe, just maybe I deserved it. Still, it didn’t make it any easier to take and since I was restrained physically, I turned my mouth into a weapon screaming at Dean for anything and everything I could think of. Not being allowed to drive the impala, for keeping me benched after my coma, for trying to keep stuff from me all the time and how he was a fucking hypocrite. That one he didn’t like very much and if I thought he was whaling on me hard before, well I had spoken too soon.

“You know better than pitching a tantrum!” Dean scolded as the smacks continued at a blinding pace.

I figured if Dean wasn’t going to speak except for the tantrum dig then I wouldn’t react either. Even though the pain in my ass was reaching near sweltering levels and it was getting increasingly difficult to just pretend that nothing was happening. Because trust me it was getting through loud and clear. Why wasn’t he stopping? Honestly, you think if he had to double his efforts to keep me pinned down that whatever he wanted me to realize would have sunk in by now. 

“Stop it,” I groaned my legs jerking on their own accord with every single hard swat.

“Maybe when you promise that all this shit stops now,” Dean suggested.

“What?” I whimpered.

“The running away,” Dean snapped, beginning to list every bad decision with a few sharp swats. “Lying to me and hiding things from me. You promise that shit stops now and maybe I’ll stop. If Sam and Aiden come back early and get a show that’s not my problem.”

“Dean, no!” I bawled. The worst thing would be if Sam and Aiden came back to this. I didn’t want anyone to realize that this had happened especially not Sam or Aiden, so I forfeited any remaining fight I had left, “Okay! I promise!”

“You sure about that?” Dean demanded slowing down the speed and now favoring force. I couldn’t stop the wail that burst out through at that.

“Yes, sir!” I whimpered.

It was clear that Dean wasn’t stopping until he was completely satisfied. I guess I had been breaking a few big rules in the Winchester handbook, but this was the worst whipping I think I had ever gotten and it still wasn’t over yet. Why would he still be whipping me? I had promised, hadn’t I? And then I realized, and the words couldn’t pour out of my mouth fast enough.

“Dean, I’m sorry!” I whispered. “Stop, please. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry!”

I let myself go limp as I began to cry like a little baby. This had sucked so much. Dean finally stopped after two more blistering swats. He released the hold he had on my wrists and I covered my face with my hands, crying as Dean slid my jeans back up. Dean manhandled me until I was able to tuck my head into his shoulder, as I hid my face in his neck.

“Shhh, baby girl, it’s okay,” Dean soothed. “Just take it easy.”

Dean rubbed my back in soothing circles as he continued to whisper things he knew would calm me down. By the time Sam returned with the impala, I had calmed down completely. I had washed my face and pulled on my hoodie as Dean and I sat waiting. When Sam and Aiden pulled up, Dean and I got in driving quickly to meet Dad.

When we pulled up Dad had the weapon’s trunk opened in the bed of his truck. He turned at our approach. Once we were within distance, it was straight to business.

“Did you get it?” Dad asked.

Aiden held out the ringer they found and gave it to Dad.

“You know this is a trap, don’t you?” Dean demanded.

“I can handle her,” Dad stated. “I got a whole arsenal loaded, holy water, Monadic amulets…”

“Dad,” Dean interrupted.

“What?” Dad asked.

“Promise me something,” Dean whispered.

“What’s that?” Dad queried.

“This thing goes south, just get the hell out,” Dean said. “Don’t get yourself killed, all right? You’re no good to us dead.”

“Same goes for you,” Dad said.

We watched as Dad pulled the real Colt out of his pocket. I sighed as the four of us looked at it, waiting for Dad to continue.

“Listen, they made the bullets special for this Colt,” Dad stated. “There’s only four of them left, without them, the gun is useless. Make every shot count.”

“Yes, sir,” We said together.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this fight,” Dad grumbled. “Now it’s here, and I’m not gonna be in it. It’s up to you guys now. It’s your fight, finish what I started. Understand?”

We all nodded in understanding. I watched as Dad gave the Colt to Dean who put it in his coat pocket.

“We’ll see you soon, Dad,” Sam smiled.

“I’ll see you later,” Dad replied.

“Later,” Dean said.

We all stood and waited until we couldn’t see the lights on the back of Dad’s truck disappeared. I shuddered as I got the worst feeling that something bad was about to happen. I shrugged it off. No one, and nothing got one over on John Winchester, especially not some demon bitch.

“Well, let’s go,” Dean ordered.

Of course, sitting in the impala wasn’t very comfortable at the present moment, for yours truly. But, I was determined to be a part of this fight. I wasn’t about to start complaining when I just got my hunting privileges back. We pulled alongside the house that Sam and I were at the earlier in the day. As we were waiting for something to happen, we began discussing how to get the family out of the house.

“Maybe we can tell them there’s a gas leak?” Sam suggested. “Might get them out of the house for a few hours.”

“Yeah, like that would work,” Aiden scoffed.

“It could,” Sam retorted.

“How many times has that actually worked for us?” Dean questioned.

“We could tell them the truth?” I shrugged

“Naw,” We all sighed.

“We’ve only got one move,” Dean stated, firmly. “We’ve got to wait for that demon to show itself, and then we get it before it gets them.”

We all nodded in agreement as we all lounged in silence for a moment.

“I wonder how Dad’s doing,” Sam sighed.

“I’d feel a lot better if we were there backing him up,” Dean replied.

“I’d feel a lot better if he were here backing us up,” Aiden responded.

“I agree,” I whispered.

“This is weird,” Sam muttered.

“What?” Aiden asked.

“After all these years, we’re finally here,” Sam sighed. “It just doesn’t seem real.”

“We just got to keep our heads and do our job like always,” Dean said.

“This isn’t like always,” Aiden contradicted.

“True,” Dean acknowledged.

“Dean, uh, I wanna thank you,” Sam whispered.

“For what?” Dean questioned turning to look at him. Aiden and I turned to look in between Sam and Dean wondering what Sam was getting at.

“For everything,” Sam said. “You’ve always had my back, you know? Even when I couldn’t count on anyone, I could always count on you. And now…I don’t know, I just wanted to let you know, just in case.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Dean growled. “Are you kidding me?”

“What?” Sam asked.

“Don’t say just in case something happens to you, I don’t wanna hear that fucking speech, man,” Dean growled. “Nobody’s dying tonight. Not us, not that family, nobody, except that demon. That evil son of a bitch ain’t getting older than tonight, you understand me?”

We all nodded in understanding as we resumed watching the house. I wondered if Dad had made it to the warehouse yet. And if he was okay. I knew he could take care of himself, after all, he was the master but still, I was worried. This demon seemed bigger than anything we had ever encountered before. Of course, it was only one demon, Dad was facing but still, and he was all alone. I watched as Dean attempted to call Dad, but he didn’t answer. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, though it didn’t make us worry any less.

“Dad’s not answering,” Dean sighed. He had tried again.

“Maybe Meg was late?” Aiden suggested.

“Or cell reception sucks?” I tried.

“Yeah, well…” Dean trailed off, unwilling to share with us what he was thinking.

Before any of us could say anything else I heard the radio begin to get staticky before turning to static entirely.

“Guys,” I warned.

Everyone listened as Dean tried to tune the radio, but the reception was bad. Just when we were about to get out of the car, the leaves started blowing in the wind and the streetlights and the house lights began flickering.

“Let’s go!” Dean shouted.

We all got out of the house, running towards the house where Monica and her family lived. Dean picked the lock and waited as Sam, Aiden, and I entered the house. We were waiting for Dean to come in when suddenly Monica’s husband emerged wildly wielding a baseball bat. He swung at Dean who moved out of the way pushing the guy backward and pinning him against the wall.

“Get out of my house!” The man shouted. “Monica, get the baby!”

“No!” Sam snapped. “Don’t go in the nursery!”

“You stay away from her,” The man growled.

Dean then knocked him one dazing him for a moment.

“You two, take him outside and make sure he stays there,” Dean ordered.

Aiden and I nodded as we brought Monica’s husband outside. We were forced to watch as a fire began to start in the nursery. When our brothers didn’t emerge immediately I got antsy. I moved to go back inside when Aiden grabbed my wrist.

“Don’t,” Aiden pleaded.

I sighed and stilled. A few moments later Sam and Dean came through the door with Monica and her baby in toe.

“You get away from my family!” Monica’s husband growled.

“Charlie don’t!” Monica chided. “They saved us.”

Monica took Rosie from Dean. We all glanced at the fire raged inside the house. Suddenly I saw the shape of a man in the middle of what I assumed was the nursery. It was the demon.

“He’s still in there!” Sam shouted moving to run back into the house.

“Sam, no!” Dean growled wrestling him further away from the house.

“Dean let me go!” Sam snapped. “It’s still in there!”

“It’s burning to the ground, Sam!” Aiden reproached.

“It’s suicide!” I spat.

“I don’t care!” Sam yelled.

“We do!” Dean responded.

The demon remained in the nursery for a moment more before vanishing. I fought a sudden sinking feeling in my chest. We could’ve finished it tonight. What had we done wrong? Having no choice we got back in the impala and drove back to the motel room. We slinked inside, each feeling defeated in different ways. We each collapsed in different places and it was silent until I stood up.

“Dad should’ve called by now,” I whispered.

We watched as Dean picked up his phone and dialed Dad’s number. We waited patiently for him to answer. We all were on alert when Dean didn’t sound happy when Dad answered. He held up his hand before putting the call on speaker.

“You guys really screwed up this time,” Meg hissed.

“Where is he?” Dean growled.

“You’re never going to see your father again,” Meg promised, and my heart froze.

 


	10. Supermassive Black Hole

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first chapter has been rewritten. For clarity going forward, you may want to go back and reread. Thanks!

I was wrong. I was completely and utterly wrong and unlike previous times where I had been wrong in what I was thinking: this was definitely the worst. My father wasn’t invincible. I mean somewhere I knew that. Hello, I’m eighteen years old but there was still that naïve part of me that thought my Dad could take on anything and anyone at any time. But, I was wrong because that demon bitch had gotten one over on my father and now everything was sideways. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I realized how much this much suck for Dean. Currently, I was far more worried about whether or not I’d be able to see my father again alive. Because no matter how much more of a father Dean was to me, Dad was still Dad, the leader of our family and now he was in trouble and it was all my fault. We never should’ve agreed to the terms Meg set. Especially that of letting him go alone.

“Where are you going, Dean?” Sam growled.

The irritation in Sam’s voice was enough to pull me out of my reverie. I hadn’t missed much. We all still looked shell-shocked. The only change was that Dean was packing his duffel bag as fast as he could before grabbing the Colt that was sitting on the nightstand.

“We gotta go,” Dean said simply.

“What?” I asked. “Why?”

“Because the demon knows we’re in Salvation, all right?” Dean snapped. “It knows we’ve got the Colt, it’s got Dad, it’s probably coming for us next.”

“Good,” Sam shrugged. “We’ve got three bullets left. Let it come.”

Aiden and I exchanged glances as Sam and Dean faced off. I was torn completely, and I couldn’t even attempt to hazard a guess at what Aiden was feeling right about now. Part of me agreed with Sam. Now was as good a time as any to take down Azazel. On the other hand, we should go get Dad. My teeth clamped down on my lower lip as I fought with myself. Vengeance now? Or vengeance later? I didn’t want to give the demon any more chances of destroying my family.

“Listen, tough guy, we’re not ready!” Dean retorted sharply. “We don’t know how many of them are out there. We’re no good to anybody dead. We’re leaving. Now!”

Dean didn’t want for Sam’s response, instead, he shrugged on his coat, grabbed his bags and sent Aiden and I a move-it-now-or-else look. I looked to Sam, who seemed angry that he wasn’t being listened to but when Dean seems pretty damn annoyed already it was best to just do as he said.

Not even five minutes later we were swerving out of Salvation. Dean was driving at break-neck speed. Even faster than he normally went, which was completely terrifying. As the impala fishtailed as Dean steered her right I lost my balance and ended up right in Aiden’s lap.

“I’m telling you, Dean, we could’ve taken him,” Sam frowned glancing at Dean from the corner of his eye.

“We need a plan,” Dean grumbled. “They’re probably keeping Dad alive, we’ve just got to figure out where. They’ll want to trade him for the gun. What, Sam?”

I glanced back to Sam and saw him shaking his head back and forth.

“If that was true, why didn’t Meg mention a trade?” Sam whispered. “Dad…he might.

“Don’t!” I shouted.

“Look, I don’t want to believe it either,” Sam responded. “But if he is, all the more reason to kill this damn thing. We still have the Colt. We can finish the job.”

“Screw the fucking job, Sam!” Dean bellowed.

“Dean, I’m just trying to do what he would want!” Sam groaned. “He would want us to keep going.”

“Quit talking about him like he’s dead already,” Dean barked. “Listen to me! Everything stops until we get him back, you understand me? Everything!”

I leaned back against Aiden’s chest surprised. Dean didn’t pull rank with Sam very often, which meant that this was even more serious than I had previously thought. I mean our father being kidnapped by demons was still fucked up. Maybe I had underestimated the demon that had taken him because Dean wasn’t acting too calm right about now and that very fact sent all sorts of warning bells off in my mind.

“How do we find him?” Aiden asked.

“Maybe we got to Lincoln,” Dean suggested. “Start at the warehouse where he was taken.”

“Come on, Dean, you really think these demons are gonna leave a trail?” Sam scoffed.

“You’re right,” Dean muttered. “We need help.”

Dean floored it to the closest person we knew which happened to be where Bobby Singer lived. Bobby Singer was an old friend of our father’s and just like most friends of my father they had a falling out, which invariably led to Bobby threatening to shoot him full of buckshot. Still, even though, Bobby and Dad hadn’t parted on the best of terms, he was the best shot we had at getting Dad back.

A few hours later we pulled into Singer’s Salvage Yard. It was clear that things hadn’t changed much. There were car parts all over the property. And Rumsfeld was still holding court on Bobby’s old blue pick-up. He came out of the house looking at us all curiously.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” Bobby asked as we all got out of the car.

“Bobby, Dad’s gone missing,” I responded. “We don’t know what to do.”

“Hailey,” Aiden, Sam, and Dean scolded.

I rolled my eyes and looked to Bobby. We hadn’t broken nearly every speeding law to get here within a decent time to start dicking around now. Dad’s life was on the line, that I was certain of.

“Come on in,” Bobby replied.

We all trekked into Bobby’s house and nothing had changed. Books lined every available surface. The stacks were nearly up to the ceiling. Sam had made a beeline to the desk where a book was already open. Aiden and I rolled our eyes as Bobby came back into the room with a silver flask in either hand.

“Here ya go,” Bobby said, handing Dean one of the flasks.

“What’s this?” Dean asked. “Holy Water?”

“That one is,” Bobby grinned and held up the other. “This is whiskey.”

Bobby took a swig of it before handing it to Dean who drank from it as well. I frowned at the flask thinking about how a nice sip of whiskey would settle my nerves or maybe make my mind shut up.

“Bobby, thanks,” Dean smiled. “Thanks for everything. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t sure if we should come.”

“Nonsense,” Bobby dismissed. “Your Daddy needs help.”

“Yeah, but last time we saw you, you threatened to blast him full of buckshot. You cocked the shotgun and everything,” Dean exclaimed.

“Yeah, well, what can I say?” Bobby grimaced. “John just has that effect on people.”

“Yeah, I guess he does,” Dean responded.

Aiden, Sam, and I shrugged. We all knew that Dad was at times completely impossible. I loved my father, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes he could rub people the wrong way.

“None of that matters now,” Bobby said. “All that matters is that you get him back.”

“Bobby,” Sam called, awe in his voice. “This book, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“The Key of Solomon?” Bobby asked leaning over Sam’s shoulder, “It’s the real deal all right.”

“And these protective circles, they really work?” Sam questioned.

“Hell yeah,” Bobby exclaimed. “You get a demon in one, they’re trapped, powerless. It’s like a satanic roach motel.”

All of us laughed and I saw that one of the protective circles that Sam was asking about in the book was on Bobby’s ceiling. Bobby Singer was smart. One of the best hunters I knew. He was prepared for anything, hell, he reminded me a lot of Dad. I trusted him completely, I had known Bobby Singer since I was a baby.

“I’ll tell you something else, too,” Bobby said. “This is some serious crap you guys stepped in.”

“How’s that?” Aiden asked.

“Normal year, I hear, say, say three demonic possessions, maybe four, tops,” Bobby shrugged.

“Yeah?” Dean responded.

“This year, I’ve heard twenty-seven so far,” Bobby continued. “You get what I’m sayin’? More and more demons are walkin’ among us, a lot more.”

“Why?” I mumbled and then repeated louder. “Do you know why?”

No, but I know it’s something big,” Bobby sighed. “A storms comin’. And you guys, and your Daddy are smack in the middle of it.”

“That’s just peachy,” I grumbled sarcastically sharing looks with my brothers.

I stopped what else I was going to say and listened. Something was wrong. Almost confirming my realization, Rumsfeld started barking.

“Rumsfeld,” Bobby whispered. “What is it?”

Bobby moved to the window seconds before I did. Rumsfeld wasn’t anywhere in sight.

“Something’s wrong,” I whispered.

Out of nowhere a petite blonde with short blond hair, and a red leather jacket kicked the door in.

“No more crap, okay?” Meg growled.

Dean began walking towards her with the bottle of holy water, but Meg just lifted her arm and sent Dean soaring into a stack of books. I moved to go help him when Aiden grabbed hold of the back of my sweatshirt. Meg began walking towards Aiden and I, and because Aiden still had a firm grip on my shirt I was forced to trail along after him.

“I want the Colt, Aiden, the real Colt,” Meg seethed. “Right now.”

“We don’t have it,” Aiden shrugged still backing up as Meg followed after us. “We gave it to our father.”

“Didn’t I say, ‘no more crap’? I swear after everything I had heard about you Winchesters, I’ve gotta tell you I’m a little underwhelmed. First Johnny tries to pawn off a fake gun, and then he leaves the real gun with you four chuckleheads,” Meg growled. “Lackluster, men.  I mean did you really think I wouldn’t find you?”

I watched out of the corner of my eye as Dean appeared behind Meg. It was then I realized that Aiden wasn’t protecting me, he is leading Me right into the demon trap.

“Actually,” Dean growled. “We were counting on it.”

Dean let his eyes roll upward and then Meg looked at the ceiling. She was completely trapped.

“Gotcha,” Dean sneered.

“Ads, go get a chair,” Sam ordered. “Hails get some rope.”

Aiden and I went off to get what Sam requested. Aiden handed Dean the chair, which he put behind Meg and then shoved her into it. I gave him the rope and we tied her hands to the arms of the chair.

“Where’s our father, Meg?” Dean asked.

“You didn’t ask very nicely,” Meg responded.

“Where’s our father, bitch,” Dean replied.

“Jeez, you kiss your mother with that mouth?” Meg scoffed. “Oh, I forgot. You don’t.”

I flinched as Meg glanced at me, smirking. It was as if she knew that was what the demon that had kidnapped me had said. I knew without a doubt that was the case as she looked at me smugly.

“Looks, like you’re out of your game, little girl,” Meg called.

“Don’t talk to her,” Dean hissed.

“Aw, how cute,” Meg cooed. “You let your brothers fight your battles a lot?”

“Fuck you, bitch,” I snarled.

Dean and Sam pinned me with a look that I was tempted to argue with about it, it said to not rise to the bait. I rolled my eyes and continued to watch as Sam and Dean interrogated Meg but what I saw next stunned me. As Meg was going after me she failed to notice Dean getting closer to her. When she noticed it was almost too late?  Dean got really close to her face, shaking with barely suppressed rage right before he backhanded her across the face. She let out a yelp as Dean straightened up. Aiden and I exchanged shocked glances. Sure, Dean had a temper, but this was something else entirely, this was desperation.

“That’s kinda a turn on,” Meg smirked. “You hitting a girl.”

“You’re no girl,” Dean sneered.

“Dean,” Bobby called.

All of our heads snapped in Bobby’s direction and he gestured us over.

“You okay?” Sam asked Dean.

“She’s lying, he’s not dead,” Dean growled.

“Please, don’t hurt her, Dean,” Aiden whispered.

“That bitch knows where Dad is, Aiden,” Dean reproached. “I’m doing everything I can to make sure we get him back. It’s not like she’s your girlfriend.”

“We can play hardball without hittin' the girl,” I muttered. “Exorcism and Holy Water will hurt the demon.”

“Then let’s do it,” Dean shrugged. “Times a-wastin'.”

Moments later Sam and Dean were facing Meg. Sam was holding Dad’s journal, opening towards one of the exorcism rites. Aiden and I were once again on the sidelines and I noted that Aiden’s stance from leaning against the was both rigid and tense. My little sister sense was tingling, there was something that Aiden wasn’t telling us.

“Are you going to read me a story?” Meg smiled.

“Something like that,” Dean smirked. “Hit it, Sam.”

Sam begins to read the exorcism rite as Meg smug smile falls.

“An exorcism?” Meg growled glaring at Dean. “Are you serious?”

“Oh, we’re going for it, baby,” Dean growled. “Head-spinning, projectile vomiting, the whole nine yards.”

Sam continued reading and I watched Meg’s reactions carefully. It was obvious that the exorcism was taking its toll when she suddenly grimaced and moaned in pain.

“I’m gonna kill you,” Meg vowed. “I’m gonna rip the bones from your body.”

“No, you’re going to burn in hell,” Dean corrected. “Unless you tell us where our Dad is.”

Meg didn’t say a word instead choosing to glare at each of us with hate in her eyes.

“Well, at least you’ll get a nice tan,” Dean hissed nodding towards Sam in a silent order to continue.

I drifted away from the exorcism despite my best intentions to remain in the game. But, I found it harder when Meg’s eyes turned black in response to the demon fighting to remain in control. We had been sticking close to ghost hunts and searching for Azazel, but I hadn’t seen a black-eyed demon since I had been kidnapped. Try as I might not to think about it, it kept crawling back into the front of my mind.

Aiden noticed my flinching and put a hand on the back of my neck and squeezing gently. Even though I knew that my family was there, but I still felt threatened. I was jerked back into what was happening now when Meg chose to speak again, “He begged for his life with tears in his eyes. He begged to see his children one last time. That’s when I slit his throat.”

I stiffened and growled, the hand against the back of my neck that was at once comforting was now more restraining. I didn’t have to get involved knowing that Dean had it under control. Well, control really wasn’t the word I’d use. Truth be told, my eldest brother was quickly losing ground when it came to his temper. I could tell that Sam and Aiden were as nervous as I was concerning exactly what Dean was capable of doing if it found our father.

“For your sake,” Dean hissed. His voice the very definition of a threat, “I hope you’re lying. Cause if it’s true, I swear to God, I will march into hell myself, and I will slaughter each and every one of you evil sons of bitches, so help me god!”

I let out a breath that I didn’t realize I was holding, as Dean straightened up and backed away from her. Dean glanced at Sam again and Sam once again began to read the rite. As much as I hated demons I didn’t want Dean to hurt the girl the demon was possessing.

 _“This is a warning,” A man growled. “You stay out of our way and maybe I’ll let your brothers live. You, on the other hand, won’t be so lucky_.”

I shook my head as the what the demon had said continued to taunt me nearly two months later. Well, it was technically three, but I had only been awake two of those months. To think a demon had stolen an entire month of my life. My fists clenched, and the back of my throat tightened. Because it didn’t matter a month was only a month. If a demon took my father I didn’t know what I’d do.

I was distracted once again from my thoughts as the pages of a nearby book began to turn on their own accord. A wind was suddenly blowing, scattering loose papers and book pages began to blow around. Amidst all the turning, Meg was screaming, the demon obviously suffering under the exorcism as she shook uncontrollably.

“Where is he?” Dean shouted over Sam

“You won’t just take ‘dead’ for an answer, will you?” Meg hissed.

“Where is he?!” Dean screamed.

“Dead!” Meg growled.

“No, he’s not!” Dean barked. “He’s not dead, he can’t be.” Almost as if sensing our eyes he looked at us, “What are you looking at?” and then he turned to Sam, “Keep reading.”

As Sam continued to read the lights began to flicker. And then Meg stiffened and screamed as her chair began moving around the room, still trapped in the circle.

“He will be!” Meg howled as her chair came to a sudden stop.

“Wait!” Dean called. “What?”

“He’s not dead,” Meg sighed. “But, he will be after what we do to him.”

“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Aiden asked.

“You don’t,” Meg muttered.

“Sam!” Dean growled.

“A building!” Meg gasped before Sam could read anymore. “Okay? A building in Jefferson City.”

“Missouri?” Dean spat. “Where? An address?”

“I don’t know!” Meg whimpered.

“And the demon, the one we’re looking for, where is it?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know!” Meg whispered. “I swear! That’s everything. That’s all I know.”

My stomach coiled as I took in her haggard appearance. Demon or no, she looked like crap. Tears streaked her face and she was breathing heavily.

“Finish it,” Dean ordered Sam.

“What?” Meg demanded, outraged. “I told you the truth!”

“I don’t care,” Dean sneered.

“You son of a bitch!” Meg snapped. “You promised.”

“I lied!” Dean scorned before turning to Sam. What was startling was his voice didn’t change in pitch as it normally would when he was talking to one of us. His voice was sharp and angry. I could tell Sam didn’t know what to do. “Sam?”

Sam still didn’t say a word and Dean’s eyes turned flinty. “Sam!” Dean growled. “Read.”

“We can still use her,” Sam countered. “Find out where the demon is.”

“She doesn’t know,” Dean shout the idea down

“She lied!” Sam retorted.

“Sam, there’s an innocent girl trapped somewhere in there,” Dean growled. “We’ve gotta help her. Finish it, Sam.”

Sam looks a more than a bit reluctant but, wisely choosing not to fight Dean he began to read the last lines of the rite. At the end of the passage, Meg’s head tilted up and she howled as the cloud of black smock rushed out of her body. With the demon no longer animating the body, it was clear that the girl was dead. No one could be that pale and still be alive. I looked over to Aiden who sucked in a shuddery breath. I put my hand on Aiden’s arm and he gave me a watery smile. It was clear that Aiden hadn’t told the truth about how exactly he knew Meg. The way he was looking at her body made me realize that he liked her. He nodded once, a gesture that neither Sam nor Dean caught, and my heart broke just a little.

This whole thing had started off as a need for revenge but as years went by it went from a quest for vengeance into an obsession. In between now and then it was clear that a war had been started, and it was quickly racking up a body count with Meg being the most recent victim.

As Sam and Dean untied Meg from her bonds and lowered her corpse to the floor, I realized something. Despite a demon being under torture, she wouldn’t have given up information unless she wanted to. Sure, Dean promised her that she’d leave unscathed as long as she answered us, but her pleading that she was telling the truth, sounded about eighty percent honest, a plaintive struggle for us to believe her. The remaining twenty was a con, of that, I was certain.

“It’s a trap,” I whispered suddenly.

Sam and Dean straightened up and looked at me curiously. Their question was clear and simultaneous, “How would you know?”

“I just do,” I replied.

“You just know?” Dean responded. “Oh, that’s nice.”

“Dean, I’ve told enough con to people to realize when someone else was trying to con us,” I shrugged. “It’s an easy thing to miss but I’m nearly positive that there’s something else going on.”

“We’re gonna need an explanation,” Sam prompted

“She wanted us to believe us and she was telling the truth,” I replied. “But, she wants to go. That’s why she’s here. Sure, get the gun, kill us all, mission fucking accomplished.” I ignored the reproach of my language from Dean and continued, “But, as surprised as she was about the circle and the exorcism, she wants us to go. It’s a trap. Someone sent her here.”

I crossed my arms satisfied that I had worked out the rest in my head. Sure, there was a chance I was wrong, and I wasn’t saying that it was impossible that I was, but it made so much more sense that it was a trap, somehow, in some way.

Before, my brothers could comment further my phone began to ring. I got it out and opened at the screen before answering and hitting speaker.

“Hey, Tasha,” I greeted.

“Hay,” Natasha sighed. “I saw everything that happened. And you’re not wrong. It’s a trap.”

“Are you kidding?” Dean growled, rolling his eyes.

“Dean Winchester, I’m trying to help you,” Natasha scolded.

“Don’t listen to him, Taz,” I replied coolly. “What did you want to tell us?”

“He’s by a river in Jefferson City,” Natasha stated coolly. “Azazel isn’t there but there are other ones guarding your father. And they’re nasty.”

“Thanks, Taz,” I whispered.

“Just do me a favor, Winchester,” Natasha sighed quickly. “Be careful and stay alive. That goes for all of you.”

“You guys better hurry up and beat it,” Bobby said soon after Natasha hung up.

“What are you going to tell the police?” Dean asked

“You think you guys invented lying to the cops?” Bobby rolled his eyes. “I’ll figure something out.”

Bobby then handed Sam the book that we all saw earlier, “You might need it,” Bobby shrugged by way of explanation, “here. Take this. You might need it.”

“Thanks,” Sam smiled.

“Thanks,” Dean said. “For everything. Be careful, all right?”

“You just go find your dad,” Bobby said. “And when you do, bring him around, would ya? I won’t even try to shoot him this time.”

We all laughed lightly before moving back towards the impala. Dean soon had the impala pushing the very throttle of her speed limit as we rushed to Jefferson City. Dean parked by the river and Sam and Dean got into an argument because Sam drew a Devil’s trap on the impala’s trunk so that we’d have a place to hold the Colt. Because, as Sam said they were expecting us to bring it. Sam and Dean argued back and forth ending in Dean putting the impala in the trunk. Satisfied, Sam walked away, and Dean picked the Colt back up and pocketed it. I didn’t bother to get Dean to put it back. Dean’s instincts were nearly perfect, and I wasn’t about to second-guess him.

Once we got there I saw the apartment complexes. One was called Sunrise as it was called, and I fought back a groan. It was the perfect place for demons, they could possess nearly anyone, and it put us at a disadvantage, made us sitting ducks.

“A building full of human shields,” Aiden hissed.

“This sucks out loud,” Dean groused.

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Sam grumbled.

“All right, so, how the hell are we gonna get in?” I asked.

“Pull the fire alarm,” Aiden suggested.

“It’ll get out the civilians,” Dean smirked.

“Okay,” Sam nodded. “But then the city responds in, what, seven minutes?”

“Seven minutes, exactly,” Dean said.

Aiden, Dean, and I waited outside as Sam walked into the apartment. About two minutes the fire alarm sounded, and Sam walked quickly back out of the building. Once the fire department arrived. Dean went to distract one of the firefighters by the truck as Aiden, Sam, and I went to get the extra uniforms in the trunk. We got them on as Dean slipped away pulling on the last suit we stole.

Once we were all in uniform and having blessed the water in the extinguishers on our back we ran through the apartments sweeping it with the ESF scanners, once it started beeping frantically we stopped. Sam, Aiden, and I were shielding Dean who knocked on the door.

“This is the fire department, we need you to evacuate!” Dean shouted.

We heard the locks and bolts unlocking and once the door began to open, Dean kicked it in and we rushed inside. Immediately Aiden went to open a nearby closest as Sam and Dean were subduing the demons. Once the woman was in the closet, the man quickly followed. Dean closed the door and made sure it would stay closed as Sam went around Dean’s fee with salt, ensuring that the demons weren’t going to be getting in our way anytime soon.

Once the coast was clear we all stripped off the uniforms and made our way into the one-bedroom door, which was closed. Sam pushed it open and my heart leaped into my throat. We had found dad, but he didn’t look so good. He had a cut on his face and he wasn’t awake. Dean pushed past all of us and rushed towards the bed.

“Dad?” Dean called leaning down to check his breathing. “Dad? Wake up, Dad!”

Dean shook him for a moment before giving up and taking out his pocketknife. Just as he was about to cut the ropes, Sam stopped him.

“Wait, wait,” Sam called.

“What?” Dean retorted.

“He could be possessed for all we know,” Sam said.

“What, are you, nuts?” Dean scoffed.

“We’ve gotta make sure,” Sam replied.

Dean rolled his eyes but stilled his movements as Sam splashed dad with the holy water. I sighed in relief that he didn’t react to the water, well, not a demonic reaction, anyway, he did wake up, though.

“Sam?” John yawned. “Why are you splashing water on me?”

“Dad, you okay?” Dean asked.

“They’ve been drugging me,” Dad sighed. “Where’s the Colt?”

“Don’t worry, Dad,” Sam said. “It’s safe.”

“Good,” Dad smiled. “Good.”

Sam and Dean helped Dad get up and off of the bed. Just when we were near the hallway I heard the storm of footsteps. Now, that wasn’t good.

“Guys go back!” I called.

Either it was the tone of my voice or they didn’t feel like arguing but they immediately backed up and went back to the bedroom. I rushed after my brothers and father just as two more demons entered the room. One conveniently had an ax. I shut the door and poured salt around the edges. As we climbed out the fire escape, I stopped long enough to put salt on the window ledge before slipping down to join my family as we began to walk towards the impala. Just as we made it out of the back alley another demon attacked, knocking into Sam and brutally tackling him to the floor. Before we could react, the demon started punching Sam mercilessly. Dean rushed over to help but with one quick jerk of the demon’s head sent Dean flying into a nearby parked car.

“Oh, that’s how you wanna play it,” I growled. “Fine by me.”

The demon was too busy punching Sam to notice the air begin to tense before he was knocked away from Sam. He looked up at me in irritation and began stalking towards me. Well, at least attempted before a bullet hit him in the temple and sent him to the ground. An electrical spark flowed down his body and I looked up to see Dean holding the colt.

“Hay, Ads, go help Dad,” Dean ordered. “I got Sam.”

Aiden and I walked forward and helped pick Dad up as we walked the rest of the way to the impala. We put Dad in the back, where Sam was put too. Aiden climbed into the front seat along with me and Dean. Thankfully the impala had a bench seat, so we could actually have all of us fit in a car.

We drove as fast as we could out of Jefferson City until we found an abandoned cabin. Dean helped Dad out and into one of the back rooms so that he could sleep, while Aiden and I assisted Sam into the cabin. There wasn’t a lot we could do at the moment for Sam, except clean the blood off of him and give him an ibuprofen. He shrugged Aiden and I off after a couple minutes and chose to busy himself with salting the place. When Dean came out we all turned to him.

“How is he?” Sam asked.

“He just needed a little rest, that’s all,” Dean reassured. “How are you?”

“I’ll survive,” Sam brushed off the question. “You don’t think we were followed, do you?”

“I don’t think so,” Dean replied. “We couldn’t have found a more out of the way place to hole up.”

“Yup,” Aiden agreed.

“Yeah,” Sam muttered. “Uh, hey, Dean, you...um…saved my life back there.”

“So, I guess you’re glad I brought the gun, huh?” Dean smirked.

“Man, I’m trying to thank you here,” Sam sniffed.

“You’re welcome,” Dean said after he paused a moment. “Hey, guys?”

“Yeah?” We all answered.

“You know that guy I shot?” Dean whispered. “There was a person in there.”

“You didn’t have a choice, Dean,” Aiden responded.

‘Yeah,” Dean frowned. “That’s not what bothers me.”

“Then what does?” I asked.

“Killing that guy, killing Meg, I didn’t hesitate. I didn’t even flinch. For you guys or Dad, the things I’m willing to do or kill it just…it scares me sometimes,” Dean admitted.

“It shouldn’t,” Dad argued. “You did well.”

We all whirled around at finding Dad out of bed so soon.

“You’re not mad?” Dean questioned.

“For what?” Dad scoffed.

“Using a bullet,” Dean said.

“Mad?” Dad smiled. “I’m proud of you. You know, Sam, Hailey, Aiden, and I, we can get pretty obsessed. But you, you watch out for this family. You always have.”

Dean looked slightly confused but answered a soft, “Thanks.”

Suddenly the lights in the cabin began to flicker and the wind blew outside. We all moved towards the windows.

“It found us,” Dad growled. “It’s here.”

“The demon?” Sam gasped.

“Sam, lines of salt in front of every window, every door,” Dad ordered.

“Already did it,” Sam said.

“Check it,” Dad frowned.

Sam nodded and left, and I was relieved that he wasn’t putting up a fight.

“Dean, you got the gun?” Dad asked.

“Yeah,” Dean nodded.

“Give it to me,” Dad commanded.

“Dad, Sam tried to shoot the demon in Salvation. It vanished,” Dean said.

“This is me. I won’t miss,” Dad stated sharply. “Now, the gun. Hurry, Dean.”

Instead of giving Dad the gun Dean backed up a couple of steps.

“Son, please,” Dad prodded. “Give me the gun. What are you doing?”

“You’d be furious,” Dean whispered.

“What?” Dad growled.

“That I wasted a bullet,” Dean clarified. “He wouldn’t be proud of me. He’d tear me a new one.”

I gasped when Dean raised the gun and cocked it, “You’re not my dad.”

“Dean, it’s me,” Dad exclaimed.

“I know my dad better than anyone,” Dean hissed. “You ain’t him.”

“What the hell has gotten into you?” Dad growled.

“I could ask you the same thing,” Dean shot back.

Sam chose that moment to walk into the main room.

“Dean?” Sam questioned. “What the hell is going on?”

“Your brother has lost his mind,” Dad snapped.

“He’s not Dad,” Dean explained.

 Aiden and I were already closet to Dean and we all looked at Sam, including our ‘father’.

“What?” Sam questioned again.

“I think he’s possessed,” Dean said. “I think he’s been possessed since we rescued him.”

“Don’t listen to him, Sammy,” Dad said. “Hails, Ads, come on.”

“Dean, how do you know?” Sam asked.

“He’s just different,” Dean growled.

“We don’t have time for this!” Dad shouted. “Sam, you want to kill this demon, you’ve got to trust me.”

“No,” Sam sighed making his decision as he stood by us.

I stiffened as I heard dad begin to cry.

“Fine, you’re both so sure? Go ahead, kill me.” Dad hung his head in sadness. Dean lowered the Colt. Not that I blame him if Dad is possessed he’s still our father. Who could shoot their own father?

“I thought so,” Dad looked up and his eyes were yellow. Azazel.

I gasped as my brothers and I were thrown into the four separate walls with a bang. I gasped struggling to get myself free. In the process of our fight, the Colt had dropped to the floor. Azazel picked it up off the floor.

“What a pain in the ass this thing’s been,” Azazel growled.

“We’ve been looking for you for a long time,” Sam snapped.

“You found me,” Azazel smirked.

“But, the holy water?” Aiden questioned.

“You think something like that works on something like me?”

“I’m going to kill you,” I snarled.

“Oh, now that’d be a neat trick,” Azazel smirked turning to face me fully. “Make the gun float to ya, psychic girl.”

I watched as Azazel placed the Colt on the wooden table and I stared at it intently. It began to wiggle back and forth the slightest bit, but I couldn’t move it more than that.

“Wow,” Azazel grinned, triumphant, “Looks like my youngest generation is stronger after all.”

“Fuck you,” I growled.

“Now, this is fun,” Azazel laughed. I could’ve killed you a hundred times today but this.” Azazel sighed in contentment. “This is worth the wait.”

Azazel turned to Dean and smirked.

“Your Dad?” Azazel said. “He’s in here with me. Trapped. Inside his own meat suit. He says, “hi”, by the way. He’s gonna tear you apart. He’s gonna taste the iron in your blood.

“Let him go,” Dean snapped. “Or I swear to God.”

“What?” Azazel grinned. “What are you and God gonna do? You see, as far as I’m concerned, this is justice. You know that little exorcism of yours? That was my daughter.”

“Who, Meg?” Dean asked.

“And the one in the alley?” Azazel continued. “That was my boy. You understand.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Dean groaned.

“What?” Azazel demanded. You’re the only one who can have a family? You destroyed my children. How would you feel if I killed your family? Oh, right.” Azazel taunted after Dean didn’t say a word. “I forgot. I did. Still, two wrongs, don’t make it right.”

“You son of a bitch,” Dean glowered.

“Why?” I shouted.

“Pardon?” Azazel asked. “Why what?”

“How come there’s two of us?” I asked.

“Oh, you mean you and Sam?” Azazel grinned. “Well, your family was my favorite. I couldn’t risk not coming back for seconds. And it turns out that you’re stronger than Sam anyway. Looks like I’ve made the right decision.”

“What do you want with us?” Sam growled.

“I have plans for you, Sammy, you and all the children like you,” Azazel answered.

“Listen, you mind just getting this over with?” Dean demanded. “Cause I really can’t stand the monologue.”

“Funny,” Azazel sneered walking back to Dean. “But, that’s all part of your MO, isn’t it?” Mask all that nasty pain. Mask the truth.”

“Oh, you?” Dean scowled. “What’s that?”

“You know, you fight, and you fight for this family, but the truth is…. they don’t need you. Not like you need them,” Azazel retorted. “Sam’s clearly John’s favorite. Hailey’s his baby girl and Aiden’s his baby boy. Even when he’s fighting with them, it’s more concern than he’s ever shown for you.”

“That’s not true!” Aiden yelled.

“I bet you’re really proud of you kids, too?” Dean said. “Oh, right, I forgot, I wasted them.”

Dean smiled weakly at least before Azazel took a step back and lowered his head. A moment later, he raised it again. I gasp as Dean begins to bleed heavily from his chest as he screams in agony.

“Dean!” Sam, Aiden, and my panicked shout mingled into one as we struggled with the invisible force.

“Dad,” Dean pleads, “Dad, don’t you let it kill me.”

The only answer is the bleeding gets heavier. Dean cries and moans in pain as blood begins to come out of his mouth. It’s too much blood.

“Dean!” I cry again.

“Dad, please,” Dean sobs as the bleeding suddenly stops. But, so does Dean as his head hangs in unconsciousness.

“Dean!” We all shout once more.

Azazel had lowered his head to the ground once more. But the voice that comes out next isn’t Azazel’s it's Dad.

“No,” Dad growled. “Stop it.”

I saw Dad’s eyes return to their normal hue and Sam made a dive for the gun as we all slid to our feet. Dean however just collapses. Sam cocked the Colt just as Azazel regains control of Dad’s body.

“You kill me,” Azazel smiled. “You kill Daddy.”

“I know,” Sam hissed instead shooting Dad in the leg.

Dad fell to the floor and I rushed over to Dean.

“Oh, god, Dean!” I shouted hesitant to touch him. “Dean, hey, you lost a lot of blood.”

“Where’s Dad?” Dean asked weakly.

“Sam and Aiden have him,” I responded.

I gasped when Dad opened his eyes, struggling with the demon inside.

“Sammy!” Dad shouted. “It’s still alive. It’s inside me! I can feel it. You shoot me. You shoot me in the heart, son!”

To my utter shock, Sam raises the gun, tears glistening in his eyes as he cocks it.

“Do it now!” Dad ordered.

“Sam, don’t you do it,” Dean pleads his voice still weak. “Don’t you do it.”

“You’ve gotta hurry!” Dad continued. I can’t hold on to it much longer! You shoot me, son! You shoot me in the heart. Shoot me!”

“Sammy, please, don’t,” I whisper as I see Sam struggling to decide.

“Son, I’m begging you! We can end this hear and now! Sammy!” Dad screams. “You do this! Sammy! Sam…”

Dad must’ve lost the grip he had on the demon because suddenly the smoke is forcing its way out of Dad’s body and escapes through the floor. Dad looks betrayed breathing heavily and looking at Sam sadly.

I don’t know how exactly we got Dad and Dean to the car, but we did. I’m sitting on Aiden’s lap in the front seat with Dad and Sam and just like normal, as if Dad hadn’t been demanding that his own son end his life just to end the demons, they were arguing. I was ignoring Aiden’s palms on my thighs tracing circles that would normally lull me to sleep but I was far too concerned for Dean and any chance of rest was thrown out the minute Sam and Dad started yelling at each other.

“Look!” Sam snapped angrily at Dad. “We still have the colt. We have two bullets left. We just have to start over, all right. I mean we already found the demon…”

Sam never got to finish his sentence and Dad didn’t get a chance to yell at Sam some more. Instead, there was a loud crunch of metal on metal as bright lights, headlights of a truck, flooded what was once dark. The impala had been hit by something massive. Due to the fact that the impala didn’t have seatbelts, I rocketed forward, violently. So, violent, that I went headfirst through the windshield, my body hit the unforgiving blacktop as I skidded to a stop. My head cracked on the concrete and there was nothing I could do except slip into unconsciousness. My family at the forefront of my mind.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments and kudos so far. They make my day!


	11. Running to Stand Still

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first two chapters have been heavily edited. It may serve you well to go back and reread. Sorry for the trouble! Also thank you so much for the comments and kudos, they make my day.

_‘I’m lucky to be alive’_ was the first thought during the beginning moments of me coming back into consciousness. The next thoughts were a string of curses as what had happened last night hit me with the force of a freight train and then the pain came. White-hot excruciating pain, enough to make me think that I knew not of what pain actually was until that very moment.

I realized that I was exactly where I was when I had slipped into unconsciousness the first time. I was sprawled against the concrete at least twenty feet away from the impala. I looked to where the impala was, and my heart dropped into my stomach as I saw no movement from the vehicle. It also didn’t make me feel comforted to see the me-sized hole in the middle of the impala’s windshield.

I didn’t know the full extent of my injuries, but I figured that I wasn’t that badly off if I was still conscious and coherent. I clawed at the ground in my attempt to get to my feet. I was successful for about two seconds before I crumbled back to the ground, a sharp, shooting pain, racing through my body. My leg was set at a weird angle and I bit back a growl of frustration, it was broken. I glared at the offending limb that would keep me benched for a minimum of a month.

“Fuck!” I shouted, angrily.

I became even more incensed when my head throbbed in painfully as I shouted. I struggled to sit up straight if anything to see exactly how messed up I was. After five minutes of looking, I had a few scrapes, some puncture wounds that may require stitches, a broken leg, a pretty bad head wound. It was hard to tell how bad the wound was, it was deep, and it felt a little on the long side, but head wounds tended to bleed like a bitch regardless of how bad it was.

“Sam!” I shouted. “Dean! Aiden! Dad!”

I waited patiently for a second before my voice became frantic, “Come on, guys!”

“Hay!” Aiden shouted. “Hails, you okay?’

“Could be better,” I responded. “How is everyone?”

Aiden didn’t respond right away and in doing so answered my question. I was content that at least Aiden was awake at the moment. I reached for my phone and frowned when I saw that the thing was shattered all around me. Well, that was terrific.

“Ads, my phone broke, call the police,” I ordered.

“Already have,” Aiden replied.

I rolled my eyes and looked around noticing that a huge eighteen-wheeler hit us. I also noticed that the driver was nowhere in sight.

“Little Winchester,” A voice growled.

I gasped as the truck driver slammed down, grabbing a fist full of my hair and yanking straight up so that dangling in the air. I squirmed in the grip trying to kick backward with my one good leg, but it didn’t work.

“ _Christo_!” I shouted.

“Slut,” The truck driver hissed before tossing me right back into the windshield of the impala.

“Hailey!” Aiden shouted.

“Fuck this shit,” I grumbled.

My eyes blurred as I fought to find the demon that tossed me like a little doll. I heard the crunch of gravel seconds before the demon actually ripped the driver’s side door off the hinges.

“Get back,” Sam ordered. “Or I’ll kill you I swear to god.”

“You won’t,” The demon responded. “You’re saving that bullet for someone else.”

I heard the sound of a gun cocking, “You wanna bet?”

There was no rejoinder offered by the truck driver, instead, he let out a horrific scream as the demon rushed to leave his body at the sudden threat of harm. Without the demon animating the truck driver’s body. The driver came back to.

“Oh, my god,” The truck driver whispered. "What happened? Did I do this?"

“Dad?” Sam called. “Dean!”

Neither Dad nor Dean answered Sam’s desperate call. No one answered instead the wailing of sirens in the distance alerted me to the fact that at least one ambulance was on its way. And, just when I thought things couldn’t get any louder a medical helicopter followed the sirens. In the next few minutes, both the ambulances and the medical helicopter landed near the impala. The next several moments were filled with action as EMTs flooded the impala and the surrounding areas helping Dad and Dean into the medical helicopter while Aiden, Sam, and I were riding in the ambulances.

Aiden and Sam were both in neck braces, laying alongside me in the stretchers as EMTs moved around us. When we all got to the hospital we were separated. I groaned as I was wheeled right into a room, as doctors began to hook me up to different machines including an Iv bag on one arm and another one that was pumping me full of the blood I had lost.

I lost count of what happened next but when I came too. I noticed that my broken leg was elevated in a sling as I saw bandages covering my arms and I felt bandages also winding around my torso. Well, this sucked. At least the pain had been dulled presumably by a decent amount of pain pills.

“Hay,” Sam whispered relief flooding his tone as he rushed to my bedside.

“Sammy,” I smiled softly. “You’re okay.”

“Of course,” Sam scoffed. “Just a few scratches. Aiden’s fine too, he just crashing at the motel.

“Speak for yourself, Sammy,” Aiden smirked.

“Ads, you’re supposed to be resting,” Sam hissed.

“Sam, back off,” Aiden warned as he slammed down into the chair across from Sam.

“You’re okay?” I asked Aiden.

“Don’t worry about it, Hails,” Aiden smirked. “Just get better.”

“It’s obviously been a day or two,” I began. “What happened? Where’s Dad and Dean?”

“Hailey you’ve had a blood transfusion and had to get surgery to reset your leg,” Sam answered. “The doctors went a little overboard on the anesthetic. So, you’ve been sleeping for two days. They said that the pain you’d be in would be unbearable at first, so it was better you were sleeping.”

“Okay,” I sighed. I had been worse off than I had originally thought. Well, that sucks.

Despite hating the position I was in, well, I hated hospitals, I knew that demanding my immediate release would frazzle Sam and Aiden’s already frayed nerves.

“What about Dad and Dean?” I asked.

At this, I saw Aiden and Sam exchange glances and I growled under my breath glaring daggers at both of them.

“Hails, Dean hasn’t woken up yet,” Sam said.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“He’s in a coma,” Aiden sighed. “The doctors aren’t putting his survival rate very high.”

“Aiden!” Sam hissed.

“She deserves to know, Sam,” Aiden retorted, sharply.

“Yeah, and look what that knowledge is doing to her,” Sam snapped.

I couldn’t help that I was crying. I had never taken Dean getting hurt very well. I guess it was the age difference between us. After all, Dean was ten years older than me. When I was eight, Dean was eighteen and already hunting full time. Well, at least hunting as much as he could. Dean’s primary job was raising Sam, Aiden, and I. Most of the time the gap was barely recognizable, I mean, Sam and Aiden were between us after all but Dean had been a constant in my life.

As Sam and Aiden continued to bicker I got more and more frustrated.

“Just _shut_ up!” I screamed.

“Hailey!” Sam scolded at exactly how loud my tone was.

“Fighting isn’t going to help Dean,” I retorted.

Aiden and Sam looked contrite as I glared at both of them. Why did this family insist on fighting whenever something went wrong? I huffed irritated at the fact that Dean was in a coma, Aiden and Sam were fighting and that I was attached to a shit load of wires while being in one of the places I despised. My attention was refocused when Sam’s phone began to ring.

“It’s Dad,” Sam muttered. “I’ll be right back.”

“I’m gonna get food,” Aiden said. “I’ll get you something. You should get some rest.”

“Whatever,” I groaned.

**Dean’s Point of View**

‘Now where the hell was I?’ I thought as I swung my legs and sat up straight in the bed. I glanced down and saw that I was in hospital garb. Great, hospitalized, just terrific. I sighed as I got out of bed and left the room. I looked around, immediately noting that the hallways were disturbingly empty.

“Sam?” I shouted. “Dad?”

I looked around, not really surprised that there was no response.

“Hailey?” I called. “Aiden? Anybody?”

I sighed as I continued walking, looking into the rooms I came across looking for my family. I walked down a flight of stairs and saw the front desk, where a receptionist was working.

“Excuse me,” I called as I walked to the front desk, “Hi. I think I was in a car accident with my father, brothers, and sister. I just need to find them.”

The receptionist didn’t react, and I fought down a flash of irritation. Well, that was rude.

“Hello?” I snapped, waving a hand in front of her face but she still didn’t react. “Fine, I’ll find them myself.”

I ran back to the hallway I was in searching every single room I came across until I sprinted into the room at the end of the hall. They had to be here, they wouldn’t just leave. My eyes nearly bugged out of my head as I saw something I hadn’t expected laying on a bed it was me. Stunned, I looked over seeing myself attached to several machines, with a breathing tube shoved down my throat. What the fuck was going on? All I knew was I couldn’t stop looking at myself, I looked like shit.

I heard a flurry of movement directly behind me and I looked to see Sam coming into the room. He had several bruises on his face along with a few cuts.

“Sammy,” I smiled. “You look good, considering.”

“Oh, no,” Sam whimpered looking directly at my body.

“Man tell me you can hear me,” I pleaded when there was no response I continued. “How’s Dad? Is he okay? Come on, you’re the psychic. Give me some ghost whispering or something!”

But, Sam’s attention moved from my bedside to my doorway. I bit back a gasp as I took in Hailey’s appearance. She was crutching around, her entire leg wrapped in plaster. There were white bandages around her arms and her stomach from where the shirt began to ride up.

“Hailey, you’re supposed to be resting up,” Sam scolded.

“Whatever, Sammy,” Hailey responded. “Aiden ditched me, and the doctor removed the IV, so I’m fit for mobilization.”

“You’re supposed to be taking it easy,” Sam continued.

“I don’t wanna hear it, Sam,” Hailey snapped.

“Hailey,” I warned and then realized she wouldn’t be able to hear me. Lucky girl, she shouldn’t be walking around this soon.

“Your father’s awake,” The doctor informed Sam and Hailey. “You can go see him if you’d like.”

“Oh, thank god,” I whispered

“What about our brother, doc?” Hailey asked.

“Well, he sustained serious injury, blood loss, contusions to his liver and kidney. But it’s the head trauma I’m worried about. There are early signs of cerebral edema.”

“What can we do?” Sam questioned as Hailey’s face fell.

“Well, we won’t know his full condition until he wakes up,” the Doctor said. Hailey and Sam nodded but the doctor wasn’t finished yet, “if he wakes up.”

“If?” Hailey growled dangerously.

“Screw you, doc, I’m waking up!” I snapped.

“I have to be honest,” The doctor sighed. “Most people with his degree of injury wouldn’t have survived this long. He’s fighting very hard. But you have to have realistic expectations.”

“Come on, Sam,” I prodded. “Go find some hoodoo priest to lay some mojo on me. I’ll be fine.”

I had walked over to Sam and Hailey at this point as they gazed to the bed sadly. The doctor had already taken his leave, but Hailey and Sam seemed frozen to the spot.

“It’s going to be okay,” I promised.

Not that they could hear me, but everything was going to be okay, it had to be. I followed Sam and Hailey into our father’s room. Dad seemed to be okay too. He had a broken arm and I assumed bandages wrapped around the leg Sam shot but other than that he was fine. Sam quickly told Dad about what the doctors had said about me. Dad didn’t say much instead he opened his wallet and handed a card to Sam.

“All right, here,” Dad said. “Give them my insurance.”

“Elroy McGillicuddy?” Sam scoffed.

“And his four loving children,” Dad smirked. “So, what else did the doctor say about Dean?”

“Nothing,” Sam shrugged. “Look, since the doctors won’t do anything…then we’ll have to, that’s all. I don’t know, I’ll find some hoodoo priest and lay some mojo on him.”

“We’ll look for someone,” Dad stated.

“Yeah,” Sam muttered.

“But, we have to be prepared that we might not find someone,” Dad sighed.

“So what?” Sam demanded. “What, do we just sit here with our thumbs up our ass?”

“No, I said we’d look. All right? I’ll check under every stone,” Dad responded firmly and looked as Sam nodded. “Where’s the colt?”

“Your son is dying, and you’re worried about the colt,” Hailey snapped.

“We are hunting this demon, and maybe it’s hunting us, too,” Dad growled. “That gun may be our only card.”

“It’s in the trunk, they dragged the car to a yard off of I-83,” Sam answered.

“All right, you’ve gotta clean out that trunk before some junk man sees what’s inside it,” Dad ordered.

“I already called Bobby. He’s, like, an hour out. He’s gonna tow the impala back to his place.” Sam said.

“Go meet up with Bobby and take Aiden with you,” Dad commanded. “You get that colt and you bring it back to me, and you watch out for hospital security.”

“I got it covered,” Sam muttered.

“Hey!” Dad called. “Here, I made a list of things I need. Have Bobby pick them up for me.”

I watched as Hailey took the list out of our father’s hand and read it quickly. She looked up, her brow furrowed, “Acacia? Oil of Abramelin? What’s this stuff for?”

“Protection,” Dad answered taking back the list and giving it to Sam.

I watched as Sam went to leave once more but he stopped by the doorway.

“Hey, Dad?” Sam asked. “You know the demon, he said he had plans for me and Hailey and children like us. You have any idea what he meant by that?”

Hailey and Sam looked at Dad waiting for some sort of answer. The one Dad provided wasn’t one that would be at all helpful or ease their fear at what was happening to them.

“No, I don’t,” Dad sighed.

“Well, you sure know something,” I muttered.

I was actually surprised that Hailey hadn’t noticed that Dad had lied. She was normally very intuitive when it came to these kinds of things, especially when it came to Dad keeping secrets from us. Everything else probably weighed heavily on her mind, which was most likely the reason why she didn’t notice.

“How’re you doing, Hay?” Dad asked.

“I’m fine,” Hailey responded instantly.

“Hailey,” Dad frowned.

“I’m worried about Dean,” Hailey replied truthfully. “And my leg hurts.”

“We’re gonna figure out something, baby,” Dad stated firmly.

“I hope so,” Hailey murmured.

Dad frowned I think out of all his children Hailey was always the one who could throw the ex-marine for a loop. I watched as Dad studied Hailey who was resting her broken leg on the side of dad’s bed. Hailey was slouched in her seat. She seemed so distracted that she failed to notice Dad’s eyes burning a hole in her head. I think that Dad could always relate to Sam, Aiden, and I more easily but Hailey was different. She was the only girl and not only that she was the baby of a very protective family, me included. Well, me especially, let’s be honest here. Dad being gone most of her childhood made it especially difficult for Dad to know Hailey backward and forwards like Aiden, Sam, and I did.

It was then I saw the game face of John Winchester slip. He was normally on his game being the best hunter he could be and that was a hell of the hunter. But, I always felt that when it came to us, his children, he didn’t know what to do. Sure, he helped us become the very best hunters we could be. But, that was our drill sergeant and not our father. He was there sometimes arriving after a hunt, giving us money to help us last while he hunted. He kept us in having a roof over our head, and when he was there he was the person, who cooked for us, cared for us, and watched out for us. And, he was our father, our leader, and all of us loved him, I mean, of course, we did. But, he was gone more than he was with us and his absence only increased as we all got older. And in his absence, he put more space in the gap that was already forming in the relationship with each of us.

Hailey said a quick goodbye to dad as she crutched her way out of the room, saying that she was going to get some food. I followed Dad as he slipped into a wheelchair and wheeled his way down the hallway to my room. He slipped next to my bed and just watched me.

“Come on, Dad,” I pleaded. “You gotta help me. I gotta get better, I gotta get back in there. I mean, you haven’t called a soul for help. You haven’t even tried. Aren’t you gonna do anything? Aren’t you even gonna say anything? I’ve done everything you have ever asked of me. Everything! I’ve given everything I’ve ever had. And now you’re just gonna sit there and you’re gonna watch me die? I mean, what the hell kind of father are you?”

I growled under my breath as Dad just sat there staring at me. It was then I heard a noise that I couldn’t exactly place. I moved toward the door when a transparent ghost-like figure rushed past me.

“I take it you didn’t see that,” I smirked.

I ran into the hallway and then the thing rushed by me once more. As it went into the room, I followed after it. When I went into the room the one thing I didn’t expect to see was a woman on the floor, gasping for air and shaking violently.

“Help!” She cried. “Help!”

“Hey! I need some help in here!” I shouted.

The doctors didn’t answer or notice. I didn’t know what else to do as I knelt down next to her

“I can’t…breathe!” She gasped.

She’s bleeding from the throat and I don’t know what I could do. Instead, I had no choice but to what helplessly.

**Hailey’s Point of View**

I hated when I was stuck someplace. I hated it even more when that place was a hospital and Dean was in a coma and there was nothing I could do to help him. I wondered, vaguely, if this was exactly how Dean had felt waiting for me to wake up. I bet it was and, in this case, it sucked.

I ended up walking back to Dad’s room and just in time as I ran into Aiden and Sam on the outside of the room. Aiden looked worried and Sam just looked pissed. Great, what had happened now? We all walked into the room and I slipped into the seat by Dad’s bedside.  Aiden leaned against my chair and we were watching Sam together. Judging by the rigid set in his shoulders something was about to explode.

“You’re quiet,” Dad said to Sam.

My eyes widened in surprise when Sam turned slamming the bag at Dad’s feet.

“You think I wouldn’t find out?” Sam demanded, harshly.

“What are you talking about?’ Dad asked.

“That stuff from Bobby,” Sam growled. “You don’t use it to ward off a demon, you use it to summon one! You’re planning on bringing the demon here, aren’t you, and having some _stupid_ macho showdown.”

“Sam,” I groaned. While I had been expecting the fight I certainly wasn’t going to try to stop it.

“I have a plan, Sam,” Dad replied.

“That’s exactly my point!” Sam shouted. “Dean is dying, and you have a plan! You know what, you care more about this demon than you do saving your own son!”

“Dude,” Aiden snapped. “This isn’t helping Dean either!”

“Do not tell me how I feel,” Dad hissed. “I’m doing this for Dean.”

“How?” Sam stated. “How is revenge gonna help him? You’re not thinking about anyone but yourself! It’s the same selfish obsession.”

“Guys don’t do this,” I pleaded.

“It’s funny, you know what, I thought this was your obsession, too! This demon killed your mother, destroyed your chance at a normal life. You begged me to be part of this hunt! Now, if you had a killed the damn thing when you had the chance, none of this would’ve happened!” Dad fumed.

“It was possessing you, Dad!” I retorted sharply. “He would’ve killed you, too!”

“Yeah, and your brother would be awake right now!” Dad shouted.

“You’re a dick,” I spat as I got out of my chair, fumbling with my crutches before beginning to walk out of the door. I didn’t even get a chance to leave, it wasn’t that Dad reamed me out for calling him a dick, although I was surprised that didn’t happen. Instead, the glass of water by Dad’s beside was hurled to the floor and no one touched it.

It was at that moment when I felt Dean’s presence. It wasn’t that I could see anything, but Dean always hated when any of us fought but especially Sam and Dad. If he was actually here he would’ve stopped it way before I called Dad a dick. Suddenly several doctors rushed by as an alert sounded. I looked at Dad who titled his head in the direction where the doctors had run too.

“Something’s going on out there,” Dad responded.

I limped my way towards where the doctors had run off too. Sam and Aiden were at my heels. I let out a whimper when I saw that the doctors had run into Dean’s room. Oh no, please, God, don’t let him die. Aiden, Sam, and I had no choice as we watched the doctor’s rush to save our older brother’s life.

**Dean’s Point of View**

Well, this was something new and different, Sam and Dad were fighting again. What was different was the fact that Hailey called Dad a dick before attempting to leave the room. I had distracted everyone when I had smacked the glass of water straight to the floor.

“Dude, I full-on Swayze’d that mother,” I laughed.

That was when things started getting weird. I felt a sudden pain and crumbled to my knees as doctors ran outside the room, with Aiden, Sam, and Hailey following after them. I hurried after them too and saw that the doctors had run into my room and were attempting to use a defibrillator. I was flatlining. They kept shocking me, but nothing was happening. After a few more times I realized that the thing I had seen earlier was hovering over me. It looked like a ghost, but I wasn’t sure it was.

“You get the hell away from me!” I shouted. “Stay back!”

“No change, I’m starting CPR,” The doctor informed the nurses.

“I said get back!” I yelled as grabbed the creature.

When I actually made contact, it turned to me and threw me into the wall. It left the room and suddenly vanished.

“We have a pulse. We’re back in sinus rhythm.” The nurse said.

I looked over to my younger brothers and sister who looked completely relieved.

“Don’t worry, guys,” I vowed. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m getting that thing before it gets me. It’s some kind of spirit, but I could grab it. And if I can grab it. I can kill it.”

“Can’t you see me?!” A woman shouted. “Why don't you look at me?!”

“Now what?” I grumbled as I went to look for the woman screaming. I found her as she was trying to get someone’s attention, but they couldn’t see her either.

“Somebody talks to me!” The woman pleaded. “Say something, please!”

“Can you see me?” I asked.

“Yeah,” The man sighed.

“All right just calm down,” I soothed once I reached the top of the landing where she was hovering. “What’s your name?”

“Tessa,” The woman answered.

“Okay, good, Tessa, I’m Dean,” I smiled.

“What’s happening to me?” Tessa asked. “Am I dead?”

“That sort of depends,” I answered cautiously.

We walked around the hospital and when Tessa suddenly stopped and ran into the room, I realized what happened. A woman was kneeling by the bed where Tessa’s body was laying.

“I don’t understand,” Tessa whispered. “I just came in for an appendectomy.”

“I hate to bear bad news, but…I think there were some complications.”

“It’s just a dream, that’s all,” Tessa whimpered. “This is just a very weird, unbelievably vivid dream.”

“Tessa, it’s not a dream,” I corrected gently.

“Then what else could it be?” Tessa retorted.

“You ever heard of an out-of-body experience?” I suggested.

“What are you, some New Age-y guy?” Tessa scoffed.

“You see me messing’ with crystals or listening’ to Yanni?” I grumbled, “it’s actually a very old idea. It’s got a lot of different names: bilocation, crisis apparitions, fetches. I think it’s happening to us. And if it is, it means that we’re spirits…of people close to death.”

“So we’re gonna die?” Tessa questioned

“No. Not if we hold on. Our bodies can get better, you can snap right back in there and wake up.” I stated, firmly.

Tessa nodded and looked over to where her own body rested. I could see the idea of surviving this whole thing form into her mind and she straightened her shoulders and looked to me before walking over to the door. I followed after her and we began to walk down the hallway.

“I’ve gotta say, I’m impressed,” I smiled.

“With what?” Tessa asked.

“You,” I said. “I mean, most people in your spot would be Jell-O by now, but, uh, you’re taking this pretty well. Maybe a little better than me.”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Tessa answered. “I was pretty freaked at first, but now, I don’t know. Maybe I’m just dealing.”

Tessa and I walked for a little while longer before I saw Aiden, Sam, and Hailey all walk into my room. Sam was holding a bag and I have to admit my interest was piqued.

“I’ll be right back, Tessa,” I said. “I’ve gotta check on my family.”

“Okay.”

I walked into the room where Hailey and Sam were arguing on either side of my body.

“This isn’t going to work, Sammy,” Hailey muttered.

“No one likes a skeptic, Hailey,” Sam shot back.

“Whatever,” Hailey rolled her eyes as Sam’s attention’s refocused on my body.

“Hey,” Sam whispered. “I think maybe you’re around, and if you are... don't make fun of me.” At this Sam glared at Hailey who once again huffed and rolled her eyes. “But, there’s one way we can talk.”

Sam pulled an Ouija board out of the bag and set it up on the floor.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” I laughed as Sam sat cross-legged on the floor. He placed his fingers on the planchette.

“Dean?” Sam called as Aiden flopped down next to him while Hailey leaned against the wall. “Dean are you here?”

“God, I feel like I’m at a freaking slumber party,” I scoffed as I sat down across from Sam, “All right, Sam, this isn’t gonna work.”

I grabbed the other side of the planchette and moved it to the word ‘yes’. As I did this Sam’s eyes lit up while Hailey and Aiden just looked completely shocked. Sam than smirked at that them as if saying told-you-so and then in synch Aiden and Hails rolled their eyes. I laughed missing being right there was my siblings. There was never a dull moment in the Winchester family of that I was certain.

“It’s good to hear from you, man,” Sam smiled. “It hasn’t been the same without you, Dean.”

“Damn straight,” I laughed.

“Dean, what?” Sam began to ask as I began to spell out hunt.

“What?” Hailey gasped. “Are you hunting?”

I moved the planchette back to ‘yes’.

“Dean it’s in the hospital?” Aiden asked.

“What are you hunting?” Sam questioned. “Do you know what it is?”

“One question at a time, dude,” I scolded.

“What is it?” Sam demanded.

“A reaper, I don’t think it’s killing people. I think it’s taking them. You know, their time is just up,” I explained as I spelled out Reaper for my siblings.

“A reaper?” Sam mumbled. “Dean? Is it after you?”

I moved the planchette back to the word “yes” then I took my hands off.

“If it’s here naturally…” Sam began.

“There’s no way to stop it,” Aiden murmured as Hailey just looked defeated.

“Yeah, ya can’t kill death,” I shrugged.

“Great,” Hailey growled as she jerked unsteadily to her feet. “This is just fucking terrific.”

“Hailey,” Sam began.

“Shove it, Sam!” Hailey snapped.

“We’re going to figure this out,” Aiden soothed.

“How, Aiden?” Hailey retorted, blue eyes blazing with a mixture of anger, fear, and sadness. “You can’t kill death and you can’t stop it either. We’re screwed here.”

“No, no, no!” Sam snapped. “There’s gotta be a way. Dad’ll know what to do.”

I frowned at Hailey and Aiden who both looked extremely upset and then I looked at Aiden who seemed to be rallying himself as he turned to look at Hailey.

“We’re not giving up,” Aiden said turning to tower over Hailey. “Dean would never just let something get us and we’re not going to let it get him either.”

“I know,” Hailey whimpered. “Okay, I know. It’s just this sucks.”

“Dad wasn’t in his room,” Sam said.

“What?” Hailey asked.

“Where is he?” I questioned.

“But, I got dad’s journal, so who knows? Maybe there’s something in here.”

All four of us looked at the journal as Sam began to flip through it. I looked at my little brothers and sister suddenly proud of them, well, I was already proud at them. Hell, they were good smart kids and they were growing up and I was happy at the people they were becoming.

“Thanks for not giving up on me, guys,” I smiled and then that smile quickly fell as I glanced on the information on Reapers, “Son of a bitch!”

I stormed out of my room and into Tessa’s. She was sitting calmly on her bed. Gone were her hospital pajamas as well as the woman mourning and the body that just laid there.

“Hi, Dean,” Tessa greeted.

“You know, you read the most interesting things,” I began. “For example, did you know Reapers can alter human perception? I sure didn’t. Basically, they can make themselves appear however they want. Like, say, a pretty girl. You’re much prettier than the last Reaper I came across.”

“I was wondering when you’d figure it out,” Tessa sighed.

“I should’ve known,” I growled. “That whole ‘accepting fate’ rap of yours was far too laid back for a dead chick. But you know, the mother and the body, I’m still trying to figure that out.”

“It’s my sandbox,” Tessa shrugged. “I can make you see whatever I want.”

“What is this, like, a turn-on for you? Huh? Toying with me?” I demanded.

“You didn’t give me much choice,” Tessa responded. “You saw my true form and you flipped out, kind of hurts a girl’s feeling. This was the only way I could get you to talk to me.”

“Fine,” I snapped. “What do you want to talk about?”

“How death is nothing to fear,” Tessa explained resting a hand on my cheek. “It’s your time to go, Dean. And you’re living on borrowed time already.”

“Look, I’m sure you’ve heard this before,” I said. “But you’ve gotta make an exception. You’ve gotta cut me a break.”

“Stage three,” Tessa nodded. “Bargaining.”

“I’m serious,” I growled. “My family is in danger. See, we’re kind of in the middle of this…war. And they need me.”

“The fight’s over,” Tessa responded.

“No, it isn’t!” I snapped.

“It is for you, Dean, you’re not the first soldier I’ve plucked from the field,” Tessa soothed. “They all feel the same. They can’t leave, victory hangs in the balance. But they’re wrong. The battle goes on without them.”

“My brothers, my sister, they could die without me,” I pleaded.

“Maybe they will,” Tessa shrugged. “Maybe they won’t. Nothing you can do about it. It’s an honorable death, a warrior’s death.”

“I think I’ll pass on the seventy-two virgins, thanks. I’m not that into prude chicks anyway,” I muttered.

“That’s funny,” Tessa smiled, “you’re very cute.”

“There’s no such thing as an honorable death. I mean, my corpse is gonna rot in the ground and my family is gonna die.” I vowed before thinking for a moment and then saying, “No. I’m not goin’ with you. I don’t care what you do.”

“Well…like you said, there’s always a choice. I can’t make you come with me. But you’re not getting back in your body. And that’s just facts. So yes, you can stay,” Tessa explained, calmly, “you’ll stay here for years, disembodied, scared. And over the decades, it’ll probably drive you mad. Maybe you’ll even get violent.”

“What are you sayin’?” I asked

“Dean…how do you think angry spirits are born? They can’t let go, and they can’t move on. And you’re about to become one, the same thing you hunt.” Tessa shrugged.

**Hailey’s Point of View**

We were all just sitting around Dean’s hospital bed. There wasn’t a lot we could do, and I hated this. I felt completely useless and felt even more useless with the fact that I had a bum leg. And now Dad was missing, and Dean was…

“Oh, my god” Aiden cried.

My attention shot to the hospital bed where I saw Dean rise up out of his bed gagging on the breathing tube. Oh, thank god. Dean was okay. I nearly fell over with relief as Sam went running outside calling for help. A few minutes later, Sam came back with a doctor in tow. After a quick evaluation, the doctor seemed at a loss.

“I can’t explain it,” the Doctor shrugged. “The edema’s vanished. The internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You’ve got some kind of angel watching over you.”

“Thanks, Doc,” Dean smiled.

As the doctor left, Dean turned his attention back to us.

“You said a reaper was after me?” Dean asked.

“Yeah,” Sam replied.

“How’d I ditch it?” Dean questioned.

“You got me,” Sam mumbled. “Dean, you really don’t remember anything?”

“No, except this pit in my stomach, Sam something’s wrong,” Dean stated.

We didn’t get to question Dean as Dad came into the room.

“How’re you feeling, dude?” Dad asked.

“Fine, I guess,” Dean shrugged. “I’m alive.”

“That’s what matters,” Dad replied.

“Where were you last night?” Sam questioned.

“I had some things I had to take care of,” Dad responded.

“Well, that’s specific,” Sam sneered.

“Come on, Sam,” Dean reproached.

“Did you go after the demon?” Sam growled.

“No,” Dad retorted.

“You know, why don’t I believe you right now?” Sam scoffed. I heard Dean sigh in obvious disapproval. I just shook my head and stayed out of it.

“Can we not fight?” Dad asked smiling at Sam. “You know, half the time we’re fighting, I don’t know what we’re fighting about. We’re just butting heads. Sammy, I’ve made some mistakes. But I’ve always done the best I could. I just don’t wanna fight anymore, okay?”

“Dad are you all right?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” Dad said. “Yeah, I’m just tired. Would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?”

“Yeah,” Sam nodded. “Yeah, sure.”

“Aiden, can you escort Hailey back to her room?” Dad ordered softly a sad look in his eye.

“What?” I asked. “Dad, why?”

“You’re exhausted, Hailey,” Dad said. “You need your sleep.”

“Okay,” I muttered.

As we were walking back to my room we ran into Sam, who was carrying Dad’s coffee.

“Guys?” Sam asked.

“Dad says I need sleep,” I shrugged.

“Yeah,” Sam nodded. “He’s probably right.”

With that, we continued walking to the door, but I stopped when I heard Sam screaming.

“Help!” Sam shouted. “Somebody help me!”

Aiden and I glanced at each other for a second before running or in my case, crutching to where Sam’s shout had come from. We ran into Dean along the way along with a few dozen doctors. Dean really shouldn’t have been moving this soon after waking up, but I wasn’t really in the place to talk. Sam met us at the door with tears in his eyes.

We watched as the doctors hooked Dad up to several machines and started giving him CPR. A nurse noticed us hanging by the door and attempted to make us leave.

“No, no, no, it’s our dad,” Dean snapped. “It’s our dad!”

“Okay, let’s try again, an amp of atropine,” The doctor ordered as the nurse backpedaled away from us.

“Come on,” Dean muttered as well all watched.

“Okay,” The doctor sighed. “Stop compression.”

“What?” I yelped. “No!”

I couldn’t even move in the room as Aiden grabbed me gently keeping me from moving.

“Come on, come on,” Dean continued to mutter.

“Still no pulse,” The nurse stated.

“Okay, that’s it, everybody,” The doctor said. “I’ll call it…”

“No, oh god, please, no,” I whimpered.

Aiden’s hold tightened on me as he spun me around tucking me in his arms as I sobbed against his chest.

“Time of death…10:41 AM.”

 


	12. Crying Won’t Help You Now

It had been two days since Dad had murdered and it felt like it had been years. We were all exhausted and upset. Luckily, Bobby had gotten came and gotten us once Dean and I were released. He didn’t say anything about Dad, but someone must have clued him in. He was also willing to put us up instead we got back on our feet, or until Dean had rebuilt the impala, whichever came first.

While we were still staying at Bobby’s there was one thing we had to take care of. Dad. Bobby lent us a car and together we all drove to an abandoned patch of land. I couldn’t do much with my bum leg, but I watched as Aiden found an old bed to put dad on as Sam and Dean got sticks. I moved my way over and started to salt his corpse and then Aiden poured lighter fluid over Dad’s body. When we were all together, Dean lit a match before tossing it on the lighter fluid covered sticks on the base of the homemade funeral pyre.

“Before he,” Sam whispered choking on a sob. He cleared his throat again, “Before he…Did he say anything to you? About anything?”

“No,” Dean answered, his voice rough with emotion. “Nothing.”

I watched as a single tear fell from Dean’s eye. We all had different reactions. Sam was crying freely. Aiden was crying but kept wiping the tears away. That one tear was the only one Dean cried. My reaction seemed to be a mixture of all of everything but closer to Aiden’s than anything else. The tears were pouring but I kept wiping them away. We waited until the last of our father had burned away and we continued to just stand there, even when there was nothing left. I hugged my arms around myself as I teetered awkwardly on my crutches as I kept my broken leg off the ground.

“Let’s go,” Dean ordered.

We didn’t say a word as we moved out and back to the car that Bobby had lent us. Time passed by in strange lurches and sudden stops for the rest of the week. Nothing really changed. Dean worked on the car, Sam worked on cracking Dad’s old phone, Aiden played music on his guitar, and I just wandered around, despite the fact that I was supposed to be on bed rest. I couldn’t be in the house when Aiden was playing guitar because his music was so sad. But, I knew he wasn’t doing it on purpose, he was just playing how he felt He wasn’t playing any song specifically instead strumming the same mournful beat. Everything was so screwed to hell. I wasn’t hungry and every time I did eat, if only to keep up appearances, it eventually came right back up. The only thing I could keep down was water.

I hated the fact that my leg was broken. The plaster cast acted like a ball and chain as far as I was concerned. But, I refused to let it stop me from getting out of the house and moving around. When I was little I loved Bobby’s house mostly because of all the hiding spots, it made hide-n-seek incredibly awesome. But, Dean had put the kibosh on that game after I had hidden in a trunk of an abandoned and wrecked car and it had taken Aiden and Sam took two hours to look for me before they cheated and got Dean involved.

Still, being at Bobby’s just made me feel safe but so much has changed. Now we were orphans, we had no gun to kill the demon that started this mess, no car, and no family, period. Our father had died and with his death, tore us all apart. We had all been avoiding each other, only coming together at meal times because that was one of Bobby’s rules. He also said that the road had made all of us skinny as hell and he’d be damned if we were malnourished in his house.

I was in my room that Bobby had given me the first time all of us stayed at his house. I threw open the window, glad that he had given me the window that led directly to the roof flat. It was a place where I could sit and just watch everything. I turned around, resting my crutches against the wall as I shimmied out of the window. Once I was fully on the roof, I maneuvered myself until my back was resting against the side. I had found out about this spot a few years ago and it never failed to give me room to think.

Despite the fact that I had always thought of Dean as my father, I couldn’t discount the fact that Dad was actually my father. And that was what made me angry. My father was absent during the majority of my childhood, as well as that of my brothers. And, now we’re barely together and he up and dies on us. He was perfectly fine, and he just died out of nowhere. If that didn’t point out foul play, I didn’t know what did. Out of all the emotions I had felt since losing Dad, anger was the most predominant. I was angry at everything, my messed-up family and the fact that we couldn’t grieve together, the fact that my dad died, the fact that he was gone hunting all the time and the times he was back he was more of a drill sergeant than anything else, and this stupid leg that wasn’t only broken but it hurt like hell.

The worst part of all this anger was the fact that I was angry at myself. I felt guilty as hell for not being able to help Dean get out of his coma. I was angry at the fact, that while I was happy everyone else had survived the wreck pretty much unscathed. I was more worried about Dean than anyone else even Dad. I had said it and thought it a million times if it came down to it I’d wait for Dean and not Dad by my side and that, in and of itself was fucked up. What kid chooses between family members? Well, rationally it would be like choosing whether or not to live with mom or Dad when there was a divorce. But, instead of a mom, I had a father and a Dean. And, god help me, I’d chose Dean every single time.

“I’m sorry, Dad,” I whispered as I began to cry for the millionth time in the span of seventy-two hours. “I’m sorry for everything. I never realized how much we all needed you and it just sucks.”

“Hailey!” Bobby shouted from the bottom of the stairs. “Dinner, Darlin!”

“Coming!” I responded.

I shuffled back to the window swinging my body around, so I was going in feet first. When I was straddling the windowsill and grabbed my crutches before swinging the rest of my body into the room. Five minutes later I was seated at the table and eating the pasta that was set in front of me. After I had taken a few bites I looked to Bobby.

“Hey, Bobby, can I borrow one of your cars?” I asked, politely.

“What for?” Dean asked.

“I have my period,” I blurted.

I tried my hardest not to laugh at the reactions that got. Aiden and Sam paled, Bobby looked uncomfortable, and Dean just looked sick. Sometimes it was awesome being the only girl because then excuses like, “Oh, I’m on my period…” actually works as a conversation killer. They weren’t about to question me any further.

“Uh, sure,” Bobby coughed. “Take the mustang.”

“Awesome,” I grinned getting up and putting my crutches underneath my armpits.

“Aren’t you going to finish eating?” Sam questioned.

“I’m done,” I replied looking at my half-finished plate of food.

“Get back here soon,” Dean ordered. “You need your rest.”

“Yeah,” I muttered as I moved out of the kitchen. “Sure.”

In any other circumstances, I probably would’ve been restrained to a bed by this point if Dean thought it would make me get more rest. But, I thought and knew I was fine. I didn’t need any more sleep. I didn’t need any more chance for nightmares to creep into my mind. I had enough when I was awake. I moved out of Bobby’s house and down to the mustang shoving my crutches in the passenger seat, as I put the car in drive. I was happy that it was only my left leg that broke so that I was able to still drive the car.

To be completely honest, I didn’t have my period, I just needed to get out of the house. In the town nearest to Bobby’s there was a bar that normally didn’t card and if they did, well, I had a fake Ids. The one string attached to my fake IDs was the fact that I wasn’t supposed to use them unless we were working a job. I was lucky enough to be in decent clothing as I moved my way into the crowded bar. I moved as fast as I could to the bar.

“What can I get you?” The bartender asked.

“Tequila shots,” I shouted over the music, “and keep them coming.”

“You got it,” The bartender nodded.

I smirked as the bartender just left the bottle and the shot glass in front of me. After I had knocked back enough shots to make my head feel fuzzy, I slowed it down a little. While I wanted to get drunk I didn’t wanna hurt myself. I gasped as a hand came around my waist.

“Hails,” A familiar voice growled in my ear before spinning me around.

“Trevor?” I whispered.

“Hey, baby,” Trevor smirked. “Long time, no see.”

I couldn’t say a word before Trevor pulled me off of the bar stool. Slapping sixty dollars down on the bar before helping me towards the door. I made my way to the Mustang but before I could get into it, Trevor had closed the door pinning me against the car with his body leaning close to mine, with his arms on either side of my head. Trevor’s eyes were burning in their intensity, but I closed the distance between us and kissed him softly. After a few moments, he pulled away, resting his forehead against mine.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Trevor asked.

“My phone broke,” I responded.

Trevor frowned before whispering, “I’m sorry about your dad.”

“Thanks” I murmured.

“We should get you home,” Trevor said. “Give me the keys.”

I gave Trevor the mustang’s keys as he helped me into the passenger side door. We didn’t really say much as we drove back to Bobby’s compound but just as we were about to enter the main stretch of land I got an idea.

“Pull over,” I whispered.

“What?” Trevor asked. “We’re almost there.”

“Come on, Trev, I haven’t seen you in weeks,” I reproached.

“Alright,” Trevor smirked as he pulled the car over.

When the car stopped moving I opened my door and slid out. Before I had straightened up, Trevor was at my side instantly helping me up. I didn’t need to reach for my crutches as Trevor grabbed me around the waist being gentle as he laid me on an abandoned and destroyed car. I leaned against the windshield smiling as Trevor climbed up after me, careful of my broken leg as he rested a hand on the side of my face before kissing me again. The kiss quickly turned into something more serious as our passion grew more intense. I felt Trevor run his tongue against my bottom lip and I opened my mouth eagerly letting Trevor dominate the kiss as I gently rolled us over so that I was straddling his hips.

“Hailey!”  I heard someone growl.

“Shit, I groaned.

I rolled off of Trevor to see exactly which brother had busted me. Oh, thank god, it was only Aiden.

“Hi, Ads!” I greeted joyfully.

Aiden frowned and glared at me before his eyes met Trevor’s.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Aiden snapped.

“Aiden, stop it,” I ordered firmly

“Come on, Hay!” Aiden snapped. “We’ve been gone for weeks, you broke your phone. Exactly how does that _boyfriend_ of yours know where we are?”

“I was staying at the Roadhouse,” Trevor explained. “Ellen heard about the accident and we figured that Bobby Singer would be your next stop. Ellen called Bobby and I was on my way to make sure Hailey was okay. We ran into each other in town.”

“See, Ads?” I questioned.

“Whatever,” Aiden growled. “He’s not staying here.”

“Fine,” Trevor soothed. “I was just making sure your sister; my girlfriend was okay.”

“Can you give us a few minutes?” I asked.

“Dean expected you back ten minutes ago,” Aiden replied. “So I’d hurry up if I were you.”

I frowned in annoyance, but I knew he was right. Frankly, now was not the time to be making some waves especially when we're all close to the edge enough already. After Trevor had told me that he was going to head back to the roadhouse. We kissed a quick goodbye and I promised to call him as soon as I got a new phone. I kissed him again and hugged him before I got into the mustang and drove closer to Bobby’s house. When I limped my way, crutches, and all back into the house Dean was waiting for me at the foot of the stairs.

“Ever heard of answering your damn phone?” Dean growled.

“It broke in the accident,” I replied.

“What?” Dean asked. “No one told me that.”

“Sorry,” I shrugged. “Didn’t think it was all that important.”

“Yeah, well, you’re getting a new one,” Dean snapped.

“Okay,” I whispered.

“Get some sleep,” Dean sighed. “That cast isn’t gonna come off any faster if you’re not letting yourself heal.”

“Yeah,” I muttered.

I was halfway up the stairs when Dean spoke again.

“Oh, and Hailey?” Dean called.

“Yeah?” I asked.

“If you’re gonna lie about where you’re going next time actually bring what you said you needed,” Dean stated, “Or is there an invisible tampon box I’m not aware of? Does it also smell weirdly like tequila?”

I grit my teeth in annoyance as I quietly berated myself. What amateur mistakes to make. I was losing my edge, but it seemed that Dean, even in a bad headspace, was more in the know about all of us than ever.

“Fork it over, Hails,” Dean ordered as he closed the distance between us and stuck his hand out.

There really was no point in lying to him. I had been busted and lying about it would just piss him off. I slid my fake ID out of my bra and handed it to Dean who looked mildly revolted of where I had decided to keep it. But just as quickly as the disgust was there it was gone in an instant as Dean schooled his features and looked at me sternly.

“These IDs are for cases only,” Dean scolded. “You’re not drinking until you’re twenty-one or if me, Aiden, or Sam give something to you with the order to drink it. Got me?”

“Yeah,” I nodded.

With the conversation at an apparent close, I walked the rest of the way up the stairs and slipped into my bed. I had to admit, maybe I was taking it a little too hard on myself. After all, I had been thrown through a windshield, broke my leg, and lost a pretty good chunk of my blood. I really should be focusing any energy I had into recuperating, but I just couldn’t let myself rest.

For whatever reason, I didn’t want myself to heal. Sure, I’d gladly cut this freaking cast off my leg by myself but when my body heals the only wounds that will be left are emotional ones, the ones that are too deep for anyone to help me with. I, unlike my father, was still alive but I felt for all the world like I had died already.

Even with me feeling dead to the world it began to get easier to just pretend everything was okay. And the more I pretended the better I felt, but I knew full well that if anyone pried into how I was feeling the façade that I made would shatter instantaneously. I had started to get more rest, once my nightmares and guilt started to recede just a little. And, after a while, I was sick of the isolation that my brothers and I were putting each other through. We were all dealing with Dad’s death in different ways, but I had never known my brothers and me to be so distant with one another.

So, not even two weeks into staying at Bobby’s house, I was helping Dean work on the impala. The impala was Dean’s and despite sharing everything else with Sam, Aiden, and I he refused to share this with us. The impala was the one thing that was Dean’s and Dean’s alone. While we were all allowed to drive in on occasion, hell, the impala was our home if we ever had one, Dean normally let no one else fix her up. But, even Dean couldn’t deny the fact that I knew cars. When I was younger, on nice sunny days, Dean would come outside and tune up the impala. I’d be sitting on the roof or the ground and hand him whatever tools he needed. As he grew older he began to show me what he was doing instead of just telling me to hand him a socket wrench, whenever he needed one.

The first day I went out to where Dean was working on the impala, I wasn’t sure if he would turn me away. He had turned down Sam and Aiden’s previous offers to help and I thought I’d be no different. Instead, it was like I was eight again. I wasn’t allowed to touch anything, but I handed Dean the tools he needed. As we were all healing we began to get back into our normal selves. We all still had a long way to go but we were making progress. Case-in-point? Dean was nagging me about me just taking it easy. I swear the man had a sixth sense for whenever I even attempted to stand up straight on both legs or hop around without my crutches.

“Hails, grab me that socket extension, would ya?” Dean shouted to me from under the car.

“Which size?” I asked.

“3/4s,” Dean called.

I got up and ruffled through it until I found what Dean had asked for. My crutches laid on the ground and I knew it would only take one hop to get close enough to just hand the extension to Dean.

“Use the crutches, Hailey,” Dean scolded before I could even take a step.

I huffed under my breath as I grabbed one crutch and used it to get over to Dean. Honestly, people thought it was me and Sam with the psychic crap? How do you explain Dean just knowing that you’re going to do something before you even put it into action? But, it was one of those things that I couldn’t even complain about. If I said one negative thing about my crutches, Dean or Sam or even Aiden would invariably respond that I could just be sitting and resting like I was supposed to be. I was as distracted by Bobby’s screen door slamming shut as Sam walked over to us.

“How’s the car coming along?” Sam asked.

“Slow,” Dean grunted as a piece of metal fell next to him.

“Yeah?” Sam said. “Need any help?”

“What, you under a hood?” Dean scoffed. “I’ll pass.”

“Need anything else then?” Sam asked.

I looked up at Sam and then over to Dean knowing that this wasn’t going to end well. Dean didn’t like sharing his feelings on a good day and he sure as hell didn’t like being poked at repeatedly especially over something Dean knew that Sam would never ask on any other day. Asking about the car as just the beginning of Sam easing himself into dangerous waters. Part of the reason Sam had been turned away at every offer to help, other than him not being all that great with cars was that Sam wanted to know what was going on in Dean’s head. And, Dean had made it clear that Dad’s death was not going to be a topic of conversation, ever.

“Stop it, Sam,” Dean warned.

“Stop what?” Sam retorted.

“Stop asking me if I need anything, stop asking me if I’m okay. I’m okay,” Dean said as he switched out tools that were all laid out on the table, “really, I promise.”

“All right, Dean,” Sam sighed. “It’s just we’ve been at Bobby’s house for over two weeks now and you haven’t brought up dad once.”

“You know what, you’re right,” Dean rolled his eyes. “Come here. I’m gonna lay my head gently on your shoulder. Maybe we can cry, hug, maybe even slow dance.”

“Don’t patronize me, Dean,” Sam snapped. “Dad is dead! The colt is gone, and it seems pretty damn likely that the demon is behind all this, and you’re acting as if nothing happened!”

“What do you want me to say?” Dean spat.

“Say something, all right?” Sam barked. “Hell, say anything! Aren’t you angry? Don’t you want revenge? But all you do is sit out here all day, buried underneath this damn car!”

“Revenge, huh?” Dean asked.

“Yeah,” Sam retorted.

“Sounds good,” Dean sneered “You got any leads on where the demon is? Are you making heads or tail on any of Dad’s research? Cause I sure ain’t. But, you know what, when we do finally find it: oh no, wait. Like you said the Colt’s gone. But, I’m sure you’ve found another way to kill it. We’ve got nothing, Sam. Nothing, okay? So you know what? The only thing I can do is work on the car.”

“Well, we’ve got something,” Sam corrected. “That’s what I came out here to tell you. It’s one of Dad’s old phones. It took me a while, but I cracked his voicemail code. Listen to this.”

Sam took the phone out of his pocket and gave it to Dean. Dean put the phone on speaker and we listened to the message, “John, it’s Ellen, again. Look, don’t be stubborn. You know I can help you. Call me.”

Dean looked at the phone before handing it back to Sam.

“It’s Ellen, so what?” I stated.

“That message is four months old,” Sam responded.

“Dad saved the message for four months?” Dean asked.

“Yeah,” Sam nodded.

“Well, then I guess we’ll be going to the Roadhouse,” Dean replied.

“I’ll pack us up,” Sam volunteered.

“Good, we’ll leave in thirty,” Dean said. “Go ask Bobby we can use one of his cars.”

I watched as Sam nodded to himself, turning around and going back into Bobby’s house as he no doubt went to tell Aiden about the plans. Since we only had a half hour to pack up, I got unsteadily to my feet and reached out for one of my crutches.

“Hailey, use both of them,” Dean growled.

“I only need one,” I retorted.

“I don’t give a crap, you’re using both,” Dean said, firmly handing me the other crunch.

I huffed grabbed the other crutch before going up Bobby’s stairs and into my room. I quickly packed up my stuff and then came back out into the hall. Seeing how I couldn’t go down the stairs and carry my duffels, I threw my bags down the stairs. Aiden appeared at the base of the stairs and looked at my bags and then at me raising an eyebrow.

“Did you just throw a bag full of weapons down the stairs?” Aiden asked.

“I can’t carry them while holding my crutches,” I shrugged.

“You’re so lucky Dean didn’t see you do that,”

“None of them went off,” I responded. “And I didn’t want to fall.”

“Whatever, Hails,” Aiden shrugged. He leaned down and grabbed my bags for me as I made my way slowly down the stairs. When I got to the landing, Aiden and I made our way out of Bobby’s house and into the yard. Sam was throwing the bags into the back of a minivan? Oh, Dean was gonna be pissed.

Ten minutes later we were leaving Bobby’s compound as we made our way to the Roadhouse. I was actually happy that we were in the minivan because I had an entire bench seat to myself so that I could stretch my leg out. I quickly fell back asleep after I took another Vicodin. It always made me sleepy. When I woke up we were just pulling into the Roadhouse’s lot. I yawned and stretched as I hopped out of the car and then grabbed the crutches.

“This is humiliating,” Dean growled. “I feel like a friggin soccer mom!”

I laughed and then coughed as Dean sent me a sharp look before slamming the driver’s side door.

“It’s the only car Bobby had running,” Sam soothed.

I didn’t hear Dean’s comeback if he had any as I walked to the front door. When I found the front door locked, I dug out the lock picks and quickly opened the front door. It swung open and cracked against the wall as I crutched my way inside. I vaguely wondered what time it was because the place was deserted.

“Hello!” Aiden called. “Anyone here?”

“Ads,” Dean hissed.

“What?” Aiden responded. “Where the hell is everyone?”

“I found Ash,” I shrugged.

I limped over to the pool table and shook Ash until he began to stir.

“Closing time? “Ash yawned.

“Ash,” I said again.

“Hailey?” Ash questioned.

“Uh, yeah,” I nodded. “Where is everyone?”

“Sleeping,” Ash answered.

“Hailey?” I turned around and saw Ellen and Jo coming into the main room.

Ellen hugged me before hugging each of my brothers, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Dean said. “We’re all right.”

“Really, I know how close you and your dad…”

“I’m fine,” Dean interrupted.

“We, uh, found a message on one of Dad’s old phones,” Sam said, quickly. “You said you could help. Help with what?”

“The demon, of course,” Ellen answered. “I heard he was closing in on it.”

“Oh,” Sam sighed.

There really wasn’t anything else to say. We had been closing in on the demon but that was then, and this is now. We had no idea what to do from here. Sensing the conversation had ended Ellen got us all drinks. I was drinking my water when I felt Jo drop down beside me.

“You okay?”

“Yup.”

“Hailey.”

“I’m not talking about it.”

“Hailey!” I whirled around to figure out why Sam had called for me. I found Dean, Sam, and Aiden were on the other side of the bar looking at a manila folder in front of them. Wondering what it was, I got up and made my way over to them.

“Yeah?” I asked

“We have a case,” Aiden informed me.

“Okay,” I shrugged.

“But you’re staying here,” Dean said

“What?” I cried. “Hell no!”

“This isn’t up for discussion,” Dean stated.

“Like hell, it is,” I grumbled. “I just got off of being benched.”

I looked up and noticed that the entire area around Dean and I had suddenly cleared out, leaving us alone.

“You’re being unreasonable,” Dean stated glaring down at me. “You have another two weeks in that cast.”

“I can still go,” I said. I didn’t know what was more irritating. The fact that Dean was planning on leaving me here or the fact that I sounded like a petulant brat who hadn’t gotten the toy she wanted.

“You can’t hunt like this. How can you run? You can’t. You’re a liability to us and yourself,” Dean sighed.

“Dean, I can research or something, you can’t just leave me here,” I complained.

“You need to rest,” Dean said.

“I’m fine,” I responded quickly ignoring Dean’s stern gaze. The gaze that I had never been able to successfully lie too.

I glared up at him getting more and more irritated. Yeah, rest was crucial to recuperation, I knew that it had been drilled into my head since I was a kid. But, Dean needed it just as much, if not more than I did. He had been in the coma just because all his injuries had suddenly healed didn’t mean that he could just walk around like nothing that happened. I gasped when Dean suddenly moved to grab my face in both of his hands and keeping steady eye contact.

“Don’t lie to me, Hails,” Dean said firmly. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed. You’re not sleeping, you’re not eating unless one of us directly says something to you about it.”

I didn’t want to talk about what I was or wasn’t doing and I had a feeling that Dean would want an explanation because without one it just doesn’t make sense. The truth was I couldn’t even make sense out of it. I think it most likely came down to control. I couldn’t control my father dying so instead I turned to things I could control, my body. I attempted to remove my head from Dean’s grasp and avert my gaze, but Dean held firm and continued to stare at him until I began to once again maintain eye contact.

“And the worst thing you could be doing is not staying off your broken leg,” Dean stated. “You’re only exacerbating it by refusing to give it a break. You can’t keep this up, Hailey, you’ll hurt yourself, or maybe even one of us if we’re on a case.”

“Dean!” I protested. He couldn’t possibly think that I’d hurt one of my brothers on a hunt just because I was ‘tired’.

“I’m completely serious, Hailey,” Dean warned. “You don’t start taking care of yourself and I’ll send you to that school where our cousin Reid goes.”

“Spenser?” I demanded. “You’re threatening to send me to boarding school?”

“It’s not a threat, Hailey, it’s a promise,” Dean said.

Ever since Dad had died tears were always close to the surface, which was why I couldn’t be blamed when tears filled my eyes. Dean looked just as upset as I did, I could tell that he didn’t want me to in school, a place where he couldn’t protect me.

“You need to take care of yourself,” Dean repeated. “Get some sleep and just take it easy and only after that you can get back in this.”

“Fine,” I huffed. “What are you hunting anyway?”

“A killer clown apparently,” Dean smirked.

“Ugh, you can go take care of that all by yourself,” I shuddered.

I laughed as Dean rolled his eyes and then before I could even flinch, Dean had removed his hands from my face only to wrap me in a headlock.

“Dean, let go,” I complained.

“Oh, I’ll let go when I feel like it,” Dean retorted.

“Dean, if you give me a noogie I’ll kill you,” I threatened.

“I’m so scared,” Dean laughed as his knuckles ground into my head, messing my hair up in the process.

Seeing no way to way to get out of Dean’s hold. I resorted to a different tactic. Most people wouldn’t think the fearless Dean Winchester was ticklish, but, luckily, I knew better. Dean’s sides had always been his undoing when it came to sparring. Normally sparring went in age order but there were always exceptions. Dean normally wiped the floor with me when it came to sparring, which was why I had to fight dirty and tickle his sides. I began to tickle him and soon he released me as if I were poisonous. He was glaring at me as he folded his arms.

“Tickling?” Dean demanded.

“I said no noogies,” I shrugged.

Dean huffed and rolled his eyes as Sam and Aiden came back into the main room.

“We about ready?” Sam asked.

“You’re asking me?” Dean scoffed. “I’ve been waiting on you two.”

I laughed at the annoyed look Sam and Aiden threw at Dean in stereo. I hugged Dean, Sam, and Aiden, surprisingly content for being by myself. I felt even better as I watched as I watched Aiden, Sam, Dean, and I smile for the first time in days. Dad might have died but we were all going to be okay, eventually, everything was going to be okay again.

I hadn’t been anywhere without my brothers for a long time. Not since I had kidnapped by that demon. Before then, I could’ve been mistaken for being sown to Dean’s hip. It wasn’t often where you saw me without him somewhere around. But, after I had been retrieved from that warehouse, the idea of personal space was a fleeting idea. For the first couple of weeks of me being awake, we all bunked in one motel room with me sharing a bed with Dean. There were also random touches, hugs, light punches and I had caught each of my brothers had just looked at me.

I wondered if they missed me half as much as I missed them. Sure, I loved being able to stay in my room in the roadhouse without being bothered every five minutes. But, I still wondered how the hunt was doing. I couldn’t believe there was a killer clown somewhere on the loose, and it was somehow a supernatural problem. That was the one reason why I was glad that Dean hadn’t let me come. I hated clowns, always had and most likely, always would. Sam and I shared that phobia and Dean and Aiden never let us forget it.

There wasn’t a lot to do at the roadhouse. I was looking forward to getting my cast taken off, Ellen was bringing me to a doc-in-a-box and hopefully, it had healed already. It was nearly three weeks and most broken bones took at least four to six weeks, depending on the severity of the break in question the doctors had said that it was a clean break, so hopefully that would work in my favor. The leg felt fine, but I didn’t want to risk walking on it just yet.

I’m betting the one thing Dean didn’t know when he decided to leave me at the roadhouse was the fact that Trevor was staying here too. I doubt that Dean would’ve willingly left us alone, had he known. We spent nearly every moment together and it was nice. He helped me pass the time as well as practice my abilities. That was the one thing we had to get away from the roadhouse for.

“You sure you’re up for this?” Trevor asked for the thousandth time.

“Yes,” I groaned.

“Because we can wait,” Trevor continued.

“Trevor,” I growled.

“Okay,” Trevor placated. “Okay, I was just checking.”

Trevor had found a completely abandoned property the perfect place for us to practice. He had a pretty good handle on his abilities at least from what I’ve seen but I was curious to see him in action. When Trevor pulled his car behind the barn and we walked into the middle of the field. I immediately spotted an archery target with a number of knives laying a few feet away. I eyed the knives cautiously. I had always been good when it came to knives, I actually preferred them to guns but none of the knives in front of me were mine.

“Try to lift the knife,” Trevor said.

Before today, my abilities were just a defense mechanism, something that happened when I felt threatened, was threatened, or one emotion was stronger than normal. Trevor was trying to help me so that my telekinesis can just happen whenever I want it too. ‘Move’ I prodded myself in my mind, just let it move. Just as soon as I thought about it moving, three knives began to lift themselves from the ground.

“You’re doing great, Hails,” Trevor smiled. “Try throwing them at the target.”

I glanced at the target and immediately the knives went zooming into the target embedding themselves around the bulls-eye. That was awesome. Trevor raised an eyebrow before looking at me.

“Neat trick,” Trevor nodded.

“Why don’t you show me what you got?” I smirked.

Trevor laughed before he snapped his fingers. A little flame appeared on the tip of his index finger. Now that was cool, but I continued watching knowing that Trevor was just getting started. He looked at it before blowing at it. Instead of the flame extinguishing from the air it blew out expanding until there was a floating ball of fire the size of a beach ball and just as suddenly as it appeared it vanished.

“Now, I want to do that,” I grinned.

“You kidding?” Trevor scoffed. “That knife trick is badass.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” I smiled.

“Oh, is that so?” Trevor smirked.

“Yeah,” I laughed.

Trevor closed the distance between us and I raised my eyebrow at him. He curled two of his fingers around me of my front belt loops, pulling me flush against him. One of his hands snaked around the small of my back supporting me as he kissed me firmly. His other hand buried itself in my hair as he moved us back so that I was leaning against the wall. I gasped Trevor suddenly lifted me up. His hands supporting my ass as my one good leg wrapped around his waist. He pulled me up so that we were eye to eye as I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck as we began to kiss once more. One of my hands snaked from his shoulder and into his hair. I felt Trevor moan into the kiss and I smiled as he suddenly ground his pelvis into my own.

“Trevor,” I groaned.

“Hails,” Trevor sighed.

I didn’t know idea how much time Trevor and I took to get reacquainted. But I knew that we had other work to do, including driving to the nearest mall so that I could replace my old phone. Trevor must’ve realized our other responsibilities when I did because he reluctantly put me down. I straightened my clothing and rolled my eyes as Trevor handed me my crutches.

Two hours later we were pulling back into the Roadhouse’s parking lot. Only this time I had a new phone and a few new outfits. Dean was going to kill me. I had gotten a messaging phone and the new outfits with one of my credit cards that I wasn’t even supposed to have in my possession. But, I needed new jeans and I wasn’t going to take my brother’s hand-me-downs forever.

Trevor moved to go into the back room. Instead of following after him I made a beeline straight to Ash. I found him at his typical table. He looked up at me as I approached and smiled.

“Hey, Hails,” Ash greeted me. “What’cha got there?”

“This is a year’s worth of my dad’s work, so, uh, can you help me make sense of it?” I asked.

I watched as Ash opened the folder and shuffled through the paper beginning to look at each before casting me an inquisitive look.

“Come on,” Ash scoffed, a hint of scolding in his voice, “This crap ain’t real. Ain’t nobody can track a demon like this.”

“My dad could,” I responded.

“These are nonparametric statistical overviews, cross-spectrum correlations. I mean…damn. They’re signs, omens. If you can track them, you can track this demon,” Ash whispered. “You know, like crop failures, electrical storms. You ever been struck by lightning? It ain’t fun.”

“So, you can track it?” I whispered.

“Yeah,” Ash answered. “I mean with this, I think so. It’s gonna take time. Give me, uh, fifty-one hours.”

I watched as Ash gathered up the information and ambled back to his room leaving me alone at the table. I jumped when I realized that my phone was buzzing. I had kept the same number I had before, and I recognized that it was Sammy calling me. I had reentered my brother’s numbers from memory. Luckily, I was pretty good with numbers.

“Hey,” I answered.

“Hails,” Sam whispered.

“Sam?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Sam said a little too sharply.

“Bullshit,” I retorted. “You sound sad. What did Dean do?”

“Hailey,” Sam sighed. “That’s not why I’m calling.”

“Then why are you?” I responded.

“We’re at a loss on the case,” Sam said. “Dean shot the clown and it hit something solid.”

“Hold on,” I responded. I thought for a few minutes trying to remember if Dad had a hunt like this before. I ended up asking Ellen what she thought.

“Rakshasa,” I said.

“What?” Sam questioned.

“It’s a race of ancient Hindu creatures. They appear in human form, they feed on human flesh, they can make themselves invisible, and they can’t enter a home without being invited inside. They also live in squalor, sleeping on a bed of dead insects.” I explained. “They also only feed a few times every twenty to thirty years.”

“Hailey, please tell me that you read that off a website or something,” Sam teased.

“Of course, you’re the sidekick geek boy in the family,” I quipped.

“Ha-ha, very funny, Hails,” Sam muttered. I heard Aiden in the background demanding what I said, and Sam told him to mind his own business. I coughed masking a laugh as Sam’s attention turned back to me. “We’ll be back soon.”

“Just be careful,” I pleaded.

“You too,” Sam whispered.

After Sam hung up I was left wondering if they were almost done with the hunt. If and when my brothers finished. What would we do? Go back to Bobby’s? I guess that was the best course of action since Dean made it clear that we weren’t leaving the impala anywhere.

I ate dinner with Ash, Ellen, and Jo before the roadhouse began to pick up business. I helped Jo fill orders as I watched Ash play pool and Ellen watch over everyone and everything. By the time it was midnight, I was exhausted. I dropped down on my bed, and as soon as my head hit the pillows, I was out. When I woke up the entire roadhouse was silent. I sighed as I limped out into the main room going straight into the kitchen and getting a bowl of cereal. I was excited because today was the day that I’d be going to the doctor and hopefully I’d get this god-forsaken cast removed. All I had to do was wait until someone was awake so that they could take me.

I wondered how long it would be until my brothers came back. That was the one thing that sucked about being left behind because I knew that a hunt could take anywhere from a few days to months depending on what we were hunting and why. We also had to consider the weather and what time of year it was. Our jobs were complicated, and it never got any easier. Luckily, I was used to waiting. Normally I had company since I hadn’t been able to go on hunts until fairly recently. It still sucked, though. It was nearly unbearable having to wait until they called or came back.

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I heard the door to the backroom open. I grinned as Trevor ran a hand through his hair. He walked towards me, planting a kiss on my temple before going into the kitchen for food. He came back out a few minutes later with a bagel and a cup of coffee.

“You ready to go to the doctor’s?” Trevor asked sitting down beside me.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “I can’t wait to just walk around.”

“I’ll bet,” Trevor grinned.

“And there will be other things we can do when this thing isn’t in our way,” I purred.

Trevor smirked at me as and shook his head. But, he couldn’t mask the unadulterated lust in his eyes. I grinned back at him. Maybe it was better that my brothers weren’t here with me. I was almost certain that they would not approve of the way Trevor and I were looking at each other.

“You wanna get outta here?” Trevor asked.

“You done with breakfast?” I responded.

“Yeah,” Trevor nodded. “Come on, Hails.”

“Okay,” I replied.

I picked up my crutches and followed Trevor out the door. Trevor helped me into the car before driving me into town. A half hour later I was sitting on the table waiting for the doctor to tell me whether or not the new x-rays showed that my leg had healed. Trevor was waiting next to me. Finally, the door opened, and the doctor came in with the results.

“Well, Ms. Winchester,” The doctor sighed. “You’ve healed remarkably well. I think that the plaster cast is ready to come off. You’ll have to take it easy for a couple more weeks. Your muscles are weak and where the bone has mended is still a tad fragile.”

“But the cast can come off?” I asked.

“Yes,” The doctor nodded. “You just need to take it easy.”

“Yes, sir,” I replied.

Soon enough my cast was off, and I was limping my way out of the medical clinic. Trevor helped me back into his car as we drove back to the impala. I sighed because Bobby’s minivan still was nowhere in sight. I opened the door and walked into the roadhouse. Ellen and Jo looked like they were taking inventory before another busy night and I ran over to help them as Trevor walked over to Ash.

“Hailey,” Jo grinned.

“Jo,” I smiled.

It was then I noticed that Ellen didn’t seem to be in the best of moods as she slammed into the kitchen.

“Uh, what’s going on?” I asked.

“She’s being completely unreasonable,” Jo hissed. “She says I should go back to school. But I want to hunt like my father did. It’s what I was meant to do. But she won’t listen to me.”

“It’s dangerous, Jo,” I whispered. “I mean you’ve seen the injuries my brothers and I have gotten.”

“You guy save lives,” Joe retorted. “You all make a difference more so than anything I could ever do with just going to school.”

“Hailey!” Ash called. “Come here.”

“You find it?” I asked.

“It’s nowhere around, at least nowhere I can find. But if this fugly bastard raises its head, I’ll know. I mean, I’m on it like divine on dog dookie.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean any of those signs or omens appear, anywhere in the world my rig will go off like a fire alarm.”

“You’ll call when it shows back up?” I asked.

“Of course,” Ash smirked.

“Thanks, Ash, you’re the greatest.”

“Thanks, baby girl,” Ash grinned.

I smiled at him as I slid off the stool and made my way into my bedroom. I changed into a blue camisole and a pleated black mini skirt. I wore my modified knee-high boots with built-in knife holders, that was the modified part. Normally my brothers hated me in bars, especially since I was underage. There was the fact that I also got hit on and some of the bars were seedy at best. So, I learned not to go anywhere without at least one knife on my person.

“Damn girl,” Jo whistled smirking. “Looking for tips.”

“No, I’m hustling tonight,” I responded. “I need my money.”

“Good luck,” Jo laughed.

I smirked and walked over to the pool table where a group of three guys was playing pool.

“Well, well, well,” One guy sneered, his eyes raking up and down my body. “What do we have here?”

“Can I join you guys in a game?” I replied.

“What do you think, guys?” The person who addressed me first asked. “Should we let the little lady play?”

“Sure,” The others shrugged.

I picked up the remaining pool stick and purposefully flubbed all my shots until I had lost.

“Aw,” I pouted. “One more game?”

“Sure, baby doll,” The guy smirked.

“Let’s make this interesting,” I said innocently.

I laid down a few bills amounting to two hundred and fifty dollars on the table. I quickly did the math. I was currently playing against five other people, which would amount to 1250 dollars. That was a good amount of money.

This game was completely different than the other one. Honestly, the guys didn’t have a chance. I had learned how to play pool from the best, namely my brothers and father. It had been a family tradition to hustle. We hustled pool and cards and whenever we were in a place for more than a few weeks, Dean would get a job as a mechanic at any local shop. But credit card scams and any money we made from hustling would normally keep us stabilized. When I had won the atmosphere visibly tensed. I attempted to move away from the pool table when a hand came down hard on my shoulder.

“You just conned us,” The guy hissed

“I just got lucky,” I shrugged. “Shit happens.”

“Bullshit,” The guy growled.

His grip on my shoulder tightened almost painfully so and I glared up at him. But before I could even attempt to grab my knife, the Roadhouses doors slammed open.

“Get your fucking hands off of her!” A voice demanded sharply.

“Dean,” I whispered.

“Oh, shit, Chuck, that’s Dean Winchester,” Another one attempted to warn the man who was holding my shoulder.

“This your slut, Winchester?” Chuck called. “If she is. I feel bad for you. She has a mouth on her.”

“I’m not his slut,” I growled, stomping on Chuck’s foot as hard as I could and pulling my knife out at the same time pushing him away from me. He sprawled out on the pool table and looked shocked as I raised the knife high over my head.

“Hailey!” Dean called sharply.

I ignored him as I swung the knife down. Chuck looked terrified as the knife plunged down impeding itself in the pool table right between the sleazeball's legs. He gasped as his eyes widened looking between me and the knife that came dangerously close to his family jewels. He then reacted quickly kicking me back as he got off the table he swung me around slamming me back on the pool table. I hissed as Chuck scrambled on top of me. He punched me hard in the jaw. My mouth welled with blood as I flipped us and returned the punch with equal force. I swung down hard as I could. My knuckles split open, but I continued punching until I suddenly went airborne.

“Hailey,” Dean hissed.

I growled squirming in Dean’s grasp as I fought to finish what Chuck had started. I cast feral eyes on Chuck as his friends helped him up and stumbled to the door where Ellen told them that they would not be welcomed back. Even with them out of sight, my anger grew, and I continued to fight Dean’s hold.

“Let me go,” I shouted.

“You need to calm the hell down,” Dean growled. “Damn it, Hailey.”

“That bastard fucking started it,” I fumed sagging in Dean’s arms.

Aiden came out from behind Dean grabbing my knife and pulling it out of the wood. Dean had grabbed a hold of me of me pulling me into the back room. He shoved me into my room and slammed the door behind me us before Aiden could try to come in. Dean tossed me onto my bed glaring at me harshly.

“What the hell was that?” Dean demanded roughly.

“That asshole started,” I snapped.

“Really?” Dean continued. “Because a little birdie told me that you were hustling. You know that we don’t hustle unless we had someone watching our back.”

“I had it handled.”

“Yeah, tough guy,” Dean rolled his eyes holding up my hand up to his eye and mine.

My knuckles looked pretty battered, but it wasn’t anything that wouldn’t heal in a few days. I sighed before standing back up and closing the distance between Dean and me. He looked at me curiously before I leaned against his chest and wrapping my arms around him

“I’m glad you’re okay, Dean,” I whispered.

“Of course we are,” Dean murmured. “Come on. We’re due to get back to Bobby’s.”

I nodded and began to pack up my clothes and Dean helped me with my duffels as we walked out of the back hallway. Dean smiled giving Ellen and Jo a kiss on the cheek and clapping Ash on the back. I hugged Ellen, Jo, and Dean. I looked around and quickly spotted Trevor. I ran over to him and kissed him goodbye as he lifted me into his arms.

“Hey!” Dean snapped. “Not in public, you two.”

I flushed as Trevor placed me back on my feet. I hugged him goodbye before following Dean out to the parking lot. I quickly spotted an old station wagon, that wasn’t Bobby’s van.

“Uh, Dean?” I asked.

“Yeah?” Dean questioned.

“Where’s Bobby’s van?” I queried.

“Don’t ask,” Den retorted.

“Oh, god,” I laughed.

“Hay, shut up and get into the car,” Dean ordered.

“You mean the stolen car,” I smirked.

Dean huffed and rolled his eyes as he shoved my bags into the trunk. He moved around to the driver’s side and together my brothers and I moved to go back to Bobby’s house.

“Your leg’s all better?” Aiden asked.

“Yup,” I grinned. “Doctor says I gotta take it easy for a few more weeks but I’ll be fine.”

When we got back to Bobby’s it was almost as if we never left. We all moved to different corners of the house. I sighed as I limped around in Bobby’s kitchen a few days after we had shacked back up. I was pouring myself a cup of coffee. I heard Sam come into the kitchen, but his steps didn’t slow as he stalked out to Bobby’s yard where Dean was still buried under the impala. I slid open the window so that I could listen as I drank my coffee.

“You were right,” Sam called.

“About what?” Dean asked as he got up tossing the tire iron on the table.

“About me and Dad,” Sam said. “I’m sorry that the last time I was with him, I tried to pick a fight. I’m sorry I spent most of my life angry at him. I mean for all I know he died thinking that I hate him. So, you’re right. What I’m doing right now, it is too little, it’s too late.”

“Oh, Sammy,” I whispered.

“I miss him, man,” Sam sniffed. “And I feel guilty as hell. And I’m not all right. Not at all. But neither are you. That much I know. I’ll let you get back to work.”

Sam walked stiffly back into the kitchen. His eyes were wet, and he looked at me fleetingly as he tried to leave the kitchen. I latched onto his wrist and burrowed into his side. Sam held me tightly as his body shuddered with sobs.

“It’s okay, Sammy,” I whispered. “Dad knew you loved him.”

I felt Sam nod as his hold tightened even more. I did what my brothers had always done for me whenever I was upset. I rubbed his back and waited for Sam to calm down. While Sam was in his own world, the window was still open, and I heard Dean as he smashed something glass before banging something metal against the impala.

“Thanks, Hails,” Sam whispered.

He wiped his eyes and kissed me on the forehead before he walked into Bobby’s library. Sam had taken to reading anything he could get his hands on and luckily Bobby had a lot of books. I cast a cautious look out to where Dean was. He was just standing there. The tire iron laid abandoned by his feet. It was then where I made up my mind to be strong for my brothers. They had remained strong for me during anything that could go wrong. It was my turn. They were barely holding it together and we couldn’t all be strong, someone was going to crack but the rest of us were going to be there to pick up the pieces because that’s what family did. I just hope that Dean would let us in because from the look on his face, right now, he was shutting down and that terrified me.

 


	13. Live Like We’re Alive

“Wow,” I breathed. “Dean she’s awesome.”

“I know,” Dean smirked.

I smiled at my oldest brother his chest was puffed out with pride as we looked at the impala. It was even better than she had been before the accident. She sat gleaming in the sun, seemingly boasting about her restoration. Dean threw an arm over my shoulder and pulled me into his side.

“We’re gonna pack up,” Dean told me. “We’ve stayed put for too long.”

“You think that’s a good idea?” I asked. After all the last hunt had not gone well.

“We have to get moving sometime,” Dean shrugged. “How about we get some breakfast then we’ll hit the road.”

Walking into the kitchen from the backyard found both Sam and Aiden at the table, bowls of cereal in front of them. Dean helped himself to a cup of coffee, while I poured myself a bowl of cereal. I sat in the chair opposite Aiden, while Dean took the chair across from me. We were all eating when Sam suddenly stopped. I looked at him questioningly especially when he seemed to be rallying himself to say something that wouldn’t go over well.

“Guys,” Sam said.

We all looked to Sam and he didn’t seem all too happy to have our undivided attention.

“I was thinking that maybe we can stop by Lawrence?” Sam proposed.

“What?” Aiden and I asked at the same time.

“Why?” Dean asked.

“I just want to,” Sam muttered.

“Sam,” Dean growled.

“Dean, please,” Sam whispered.

Alright, guys, pack up, we’ll leave in thirty,” Dean ordered.

A half hour later we left Bobby’s. We all said goodbye to Bobby and thanked him for letting us recuperate at his house. He said that’s what family does. I smiled knowing that it was true. Bobby was like our second father or was it third? We were barely on the road for an hour before Dean began to complain. It wasn’t that we were driving, hell he was psyched to drive the impala it was more our destination that was unpleasant. There really were only two reasons why’d we ever go back to Lawrence and since Missouri didn’t even know we were coming that left the other…Mom. Or more specifically her grave site.

“Come on, Sam, I’m begging you,” Dean groaned. “This is stupid.”

“Why?” Sam retorted sharply.

“Going to visit Mom’s grave?” Dean demanded. “I mean, she doesn’t even have a grave. There wasn't body left after the fire.”

“She has a headstone,” Sam replied.

“Yeah, put up by her uncle, a man we’ve never even met,” Dean growled. “So, you wanna go pay your respects to a slab of granite put up by a stranger? Come on, Sammy.”

“Dean, that’s not the point,” Sam sighed.

“Well, then, _enlighten_ me,” Dean stated.

“It’s not about a body or a casket. It’s about her memory okay?” Sam grumbled

“Mm,” Dean huffed.

“And after Dad, it just…it just feels like the right thing to do,” Sam muttered.

“It’s irrational, that’s what it is.” Dean sneered.

“If Sam wants to visit, Dean, I don’t think that’s irrational,” I replied.

“Hailey,” Dean sighed. “Honestly?”

“It’ll only be for a day we don’t even have to stay,” I shrugged. “Right Sammy?”

“Yeah,” Sam answered.

“How do you feel, Ads?” Dean demanded.

“Are you really trying to tie this up?” I asked.

“Everyone deserves a say,” Dean replied.

I narrowed my eyes at Dean who shrugged at me. I really didn’t know why he was acting like this. It wasn’t like any one of us really wanted to go back to Lawrence but if Sam wanted to we owed it to him. I looked at Aiden who shifted uncomfortably at the sudden undivided attention he was receiving.

“I don’t care,” Aiden shrugged. “I mean it’s only a few hours, right?”

“Yeah,” Sam and I replied.

“Then whatever,” Aiden muttered.

With the obvious end of the conversation, we all went back to whatever we had been doing. I was currently texting Trevor telling him what was going on. Aiden was listening to music on his iPod, while Sam was trying to sleep, and Dean was driving. It was obvious from the rigid set in my oldest brother’s shoulders that he was driving to the last place on earth he wanted to be. The only reason he was even going was because Dean could never say no to us at least most of the time.

When we got to the cemetery we split up. Sam was going to Mom grave while Aiden and Dean began to walk around. I climbed out of the impala and sat on the roof, content to wait until my brothers came back. I sighed when Aiden began to call me.

“What?” I grumbled.

“Hay, you have to see this,” Aiden said. “Dean thinks we gotta hunt.”

“You’re joking?” I muttered.

“Uh, no,” Aiden sneered. “Get over here.”

“God, you’re such a pain in my ass,” I snapped as I jumped off the impala and went in search of my brothers.

It really wasn’t all that hard to find Dean and Aiden. But what they had found was surprising. Aiden was standing in the middle of a perfect circle of dead grass. Right next to him is a dead tree with a gravestone a few yards away from it covered in dead flowers.

“What the…”

“Hailey,” Aiden called cutting me off midsentence. “Isn’t this nuts?”

“Yeah, that comes to mind,” I muttered.

I turned around at the sound of approaching footsteps apparently Sam had said all he needed to. He stood with Aiden and I as Dean finished talking to the groundskeeper. When Dean finally came back to us, he was holding a piece of paper.

“Angela Mason,” Dean stated as we began to walk back to the impala. “She was a student at the local college. Her funeral was three days ago.”

“And?” Sam asked.

“And?” Dean demanded. “You saw her grave, everything dead around it in a perfect circle. You don’t think that’s a little weird.”

“Maybe the groundskeeper went a little agro with the pesticide,” Sam shrugged.

“No, I asked him,” Dean responded. “No, pesticide, no chemicals. Nobody can explain it.”

“Okay, so, what are you thinking?” Sam questioned.

“I don’t know,” Dean sighed. “Unholy ground, maybe?”

“Unholy?” Sam scoffed.

“What? If something evil happened there, it could easily poison the ground. Remember the farm outside Cedar Rapids?” Dean growled.

“Yeah, but…”

“Could be the sign of a demonic presence. Or that Angela girl’s spirit, if it’s powerful enough.” Dean explained.

I looked at Sam who looked skeptical at best. Aiden seemed indifferent to the whole thing and I didn’t want to be in the middle if punches were thrown.

“Well, don’t get too excited, Sam,” Dean groused. “You might pull something.”

We had reached the impala and instead of going inside and driving away we stood around. Sam was on the passenger side door. Dean was leaning against the driver’s side his arms on the car as he stared Sam down, while Aiden and I were by the trunk, looking at each other uneasily.

“It’s just…stumbling onto a hunt?” Sam grumbled. “Here of all places?”

“Why not?” Dean snapped.

“Are you sure this is about a hunt, not about something else?” Sam replied.

My eyes widened as I stared at Sam, trying to get him to stop talking. I didn’t know what Sam was trying to prove but if Dean got pissed that wouldn’t be good for anyone.

“What else would it be about?” Dean glowered.

“You know, just forget it,” Sam muttered opening the passenger side door.

“You could believe whatever you want, Sam,” Dean stated firmly, “but I let you drag my ass out here, the least we can do is check this out.”

Sam rolled his eyes, slipping into the passenger seat and shut the door behind him. Aiden and I exchanged glances ad simultaneously rolled our eyes as we to slipped into the back bench seat. Dean got in a few seconds later and he began to drive into town.

“The girl’s dad works in town,” Dean said. “He’s a professor at the school.”

A few minutes later Dean parked in front of the Department of Archeology and Greek Studies. With a quick order for Aiden and me to stay out here, Sam and Dean went inside no doubt to question the dead girl’s father.

“Why didn’t Dean let you go with them?” I questioned.

“Who knows?” Aiden shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter, does it?”

I huffed and rolled my eyes. Aiden was always indifferent when it came to hunting. He didn’t care either way: hunting not hunting, it never bothered him. I couldn’t really be mad at him. It was just Aiden being who he was. He was the most laid back out of all of us. Hell, I don’t think he really cared about hunting, he just cared about us and being with us. Even with his mixed feelings when it came to hunting, no one could deny that he was good at the family business.

“Penny for your thoughts?” Aiden whispered as we leaned against the trunk of the impala.

“Everything’s changed,” I shrugged. “I don’t know what to think. Dad’s gone and I’m sad, sure, of course. But I think I’d be even more upset if it had been Dean.”

“Dad wasn’t really there,” Aiden said throwing an arm over my shoulders. “Dean was. I feel the same way, but I still miss Dad. He taught us everything we know. He brought us into all this made us a stronger family. We owe him a lot.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I sighed.

“The man wasn’t perfect, Hay, but he loved us and did the best he can,” Aiden stated. “When it comes down to it that’s all anyone can hope for.”

“I know,” I sighed. “I miss him, Ads. I don’t know what we’re going to do without him.”

“We’ll rally together,” Aiden sighed. “We’ll heal together. But between now and then, it’ll be hard. None of us are perfect and none of us deal with our feelings well. And, despite all that, we’re gonna make it work.”

“You sound so sure,” I muttered.

“I have no reason not to be,” Aiden said.

“Are you sure you’re dealing with everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah, Hay, I’m fine,” Aiden smirked. “Seriously, I’m okay.”

“You sure?” I continued. “Because I’ve caught Sam break down twice and Dean’s tail spinning.”

“We all are dealing with this in our own way,” Aiden said. “Don’t think I didn’t smell the alcohol on your breath when I busted you with Trevor.”

Aiden and I were so lost in our own thoughts that we didn’t see Sam and Dean approaching the impala until they were nearly on top of us.

“Let’s go,” Dean ordered sharply.

I shot a look to Sam, who purposefully ignored my gaze, ducking into the passenger seat Aiden nudged me and rolled his eyes. It seemed as though the interview with Angela’s dad didn’t go as planned. Aiden and I had no choice but to get in the impala. Dean quickly found a motel and fifteen minutes later we were set up with a room. We only got one room, which was just fine with me. I didn’t want to be too far away from my brothers right now. Aiden was right we needed to heal together, and separation wasn’t going to help.

“I’m telling you, there’s something going on here,” Dean snapped at Sam as Aiden and I sat on one of the beds. “We just haven’t found it yet.”

“Dean, so far you’ve got a patch of dead grass and nothing,” Sam responded.

“Well, something turned that grave into unholy ground,” Dean stated.

“There’s no reason for it to be unholy ground!” Sam groaned. “Angela Mason was a nice girl who died in a car crash. That’s not exactly ‘vengeful spirit’ material. You heard her father.”

“We didn’t,” I shrugged.

“Stay outta this!” Sam and Dean growled.

“Wow bite my head off,” I muttered.

Sam and Dean ignored my comment and continued to glare at each other.

“Yeah, well, maybe Daddy doesn’t know everything there is to know about his little angel, huh?” Dean demanded.

“You know what?” Sam shouted. “We never should have bothered that poor man. We shouldn’t even be here anymore.”

“So what?” Dean sneered. “We just bail? Without even figuring out what’s going on?”

“I think I know what’s going on here,” Sam sighed. “It’s the only reason I went along with you this far.”

“Sam!” Aiden reproached.

“What are you talking about?” Dean rolled his eyes, ignoring the fact that Aiden even said anything.

“This is about Mom’s grave,” Sam said.

“That’s got nothing to do with it,” Dean scoffed.

“You wouldn’t step within a hundred yards of it,” Sam groaned. “Look, maybe you’re imagining a hunt where there isn’t one, so you don’t have to think about Mom. Or Dad.”

Aiden and I rose to our feet trying to get in between Sam and Dean because with the glare that Dean was giving Sam, this wouldn’t end well.

“Shut up, Sam,” Dean ordered, sharply.

“You know what?” Sam continued, angrily, obviously feeling no need for self-preservation. “You know what, you slap on this big, fake smile, but I can see right through it, because I know how you feel, Dean! Dad’s dead! He left a hole, and it hurts so bad you can’t take it, but you can’t just pretend that his death never happened! And abandon what he taught us, it’s an insult to his memory!”

“Okay,” Dean nodded after a pause.

He turned to go, but then wheeled around and punched Sam right in the mouth. Sam’s head snapped to the left at the blow and Aiden and I gasped at the same time.

“Dean!” I whispered.

“I don’t need this crap,” Dean snarled.

“Dean, where are you going?” Aiden asked.

“I’m gonna go get a drink,” Dean said. _“Alone.”_

Dean shrugged on his coat before slamming the front door after him. Aiden, Sam, and I looked at each other stunned. Dean had never punched any of us on purpose and especially not in the face. Sure there had been fights when we were all growing up, it was one of the negatives of being trained fighters, our fights were vicious, but Dean had never consciously punched anyone like that.

“Sam are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Sam said shrugging me off as he moved to go into the bathroom.

I shook my head as I felt my own jaw clench in an attempt to ward off the tears that were welling in my eyes. I went to the bed and grabbed my sweatshirt moving quickly towards the front door.

“Hailey, where are you going?” Aiden sighed.

“I need to be alone,” I whispered. “’M gonna take a walk.”

“Be careful,” Aiden said.

“I got my knife,” I grunted as I closed the door behind me and purposefully ambled off in the direct opposite of where the bar was.

_“Dad’s dead! He left a hole, and it hurts so bad you can’t take it!” Sam’s voice reverberated in my mind with enough force to make me wince._

That sincere statement directed fully at Dean should’ve hit all of us in the chest. I couldn’t deny the fact that Dad’s death left a hole, but it didn’t hurt as bad as Sam and Dean were taking it. I quickly rationalized that it wasn’t anything wrong with Aiden and I it’s just we didn’t experience the person Dad was before Mom had died

Dean was ten years old and Sam was six. They both had memories of both Mom and Dad that Aiden and I didn’t get to have. Dean remembered who Dad was before the fire had destroyed our family. The man who was a loving, doting father and not a man fueled by vengeance. It made more sense that Dean and Sam were taking his loss harder than Aiden and me because they had lost more. The father Aiden and I had come to know was Dean, plain and simple. Dad was just absent during most of our childhood, leaving us with a handful of ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’. With the amount of time we moved, it would’ve been completely understandable if we ran wild. Which was why we were lucky we had Dean because he kept us in line.

Sure, I missed dad and I felt guilty as all hell that I wasn’t being kept up at night about it. But I couldn’t deny the fact that I was so much happier with the fact that Dean was with us. Dean was on his deathbed and he should’ve died. He should’ve died. Instantly I froze mid-step. Dean was close to death and Dad was fine. The summoning ritual. Sam had gotten it wrong, Dad didn’t want some showdown with the demon, he wanted to make a deal. That’s why we didn’t have the gun and Dad mysteriously dropped dead.

“Oh, my god,” I whimpered.

A shaky hand went to my mouth as I stumbled to the ground. I didn’t try to get back up, I didn’t even want to. We had all thought Dad was a selfish bastard, but he had given up his own life, his crusade to save Dean’s life. I wondered if he knew how Sam, Aiden, and I felt about Dean, it wasn’t that hard to guess. We worshipped Dean, he couldn’t do anything wrong in our eyes.

But somewhere along the way that had changed. Now Sam had a sudden allegiance to Dad and his crusade, scorning Dean and leaving Aiden and I stuck in the middle. Dean had punched Sam. Dad had given up his life for Dean’s. I let out a small scream of pure grief as I slammed my fist into the concrete over and over again before I fell back over. I pulled my knees to my chest and just sobbed.

It was pouring down rain and it was cold, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t feel the cold or the slippery wetness that soaked through my jeans and shirt, drenching my hair and masking my tears. I lost track of time and place as dusk slipped into dark twilight. I continued to bawl for the things that I had lost. The mother I never had or the father. The kind of childhood I had where the impala was basically the only home I knew. The fact that we had all been hurt countless times, exposed to people’s worse nightmares with nothing to show for it except for a splintered family.

We were now a family that was barely holding it together. Like a snake with its head cut off. We were confused, and we didn’t know what to do. The demon had gone back into hiding and who knew how long it would take for it surface. Suddenly bright headlights flooded the darkness as it turned onto the street where I was laying. The car then came to a complete stop as the driver’s side door was thrown open.

“Hailey!” came Dean’s frantic voice.

He slammed the door as he rushed to my side dropping to a knee and pulling me into his chest.

“Are you okay?” Dean demanded. “What happened?”

I just shook my head and Dean’s hold on my forearms tightened as he shook me sharply.

“Have you lost your fucking mind?” Dean roared. “You don’t just decide to lay down in the street! You could’ve been killed.”

My lip wobbled as I felt Dean’s probing fingers making sure that I was in fact unscathed. When I was deemed to be fine he pulled me tightly into his chest as I continued to cry.

“Jesus, Hails, you trying to give me a heart attack?” Dean grumbled.

I shook my head and huddled closer into the person who personified security. His hold tightened as a result as I felt a hand smooth down my hair as he kissed me softly on the forehead. After what felt like hours but was in reality only minutes, Dean attempted to get up, but I latched on tightly. I heard Dean let out a huff as he stooped down and picked me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist as he began to walk towards the impala.

“She okay? Sam asked.

I was surprised to hear Sam’s voice and what was presumably Aiden’s sigh of annoyance at Sam’s question.

“I got her,” Dean said. “Drive back.”

“Dean it’s pouring,” Sam protested.

“I’ve noticed, Sammy,” Dean grumbled. “Just do what I tell you, okay?”

“If you’re sure,” Sam trailed off.

“Swing by the diner and get dinner for all of us too,” Dean ordered.

“All right,” Sam said.

I heard the roar of the impala as she started back up before Sam drove off to get some form of food. Dean continued to walk to the motel, holding me tightly the entire way.

“’M sorry,” I whimpered.

“Shhh,” Dean soothed.

Dean reached the motel room faster than I thought he would. He jostled me a little to get the key out of his pocket and quickly opened the door. He moved through the room, grabbing my duffel bag as he carried me into the bathroom. He placed me gently on top of the counter and moved to the shower/bath. He put the plug in the bath and quickly got the water hot enough. Dean moved back to me, he looked at me for a second before his fingers caught the bottom of my sweatshirt. Dean sighed, grabbing my wrists as I attempted to push his hands away. Instead of reaching for my sweatshirt again he pulled my wrist up to his gaze.

“When did this happen?” Dean asked, indicating my bloody and mangled knuckles.

I shrugged in response reverting my eyes to the floor.

“That’s not an answer, Hailey,” Dean growled lowly.

“It doesn’t matter,” I whispered. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, because people who are perfectly okay always have breakdowns in the middle of the street,” Dean scoffed.

I visibly locked down after that refusing to remove my gaze from the floor. I heard Dean sigh and then grab my sweatshirt pulling it up and over my head. He picked me up from the counter depositing me on my feet as he pulled off my soaked jeans. With a sudden pile of wet clothing, I was left in a white tank top and my boy shorts. Dean stood with his arms crossed and his legs splayed, staring at me with determination. I had nowhere to go as I was trapped between Dean’s body and the counter as I continued to look anywhere but at him. I didn’t think I could handle the probing emerald green. The same green that would be sparking with a combination of concern and annoyance. Those very eyes would and could crack me easily, but I couldn’t give Dean the answers he wanted to have. I just couldn’t.

“Look at me,” Dean ordered, “ _now_ Hailey.”

I bristled and groaned. That very tone had just the right amount of iron in order to make it nearly impossible to disobey. I sighed peering up at Dean through my eyelashes. I saw Dean raise a brow before he reached out and grasped my chin, forcing me to look up.

“What happened?” Dean asked.

“Nothing,” I grumbled.

“Don’t lie to me,” Dean growled.

“I’m _not_ lying,” I responded jerking my head sharply to the side to dislodge Dean’s hold on my chin, “nothing happened.”

 I turned around and walked the small distance to the hot bath; climbing in quickly. I put distance between Dean and I knowing that while I lied to people for a living, I could ever lie to him. Either that or Dean knew me entirely too well, making it nearly impossible to even bother trying to lie. I heard Dean sigh as he grabbed the first aid from the counter and walked over to me. He grabbed the hand that I had hurt and began to clean out the scrapes before wrapping my hand in a white bandage.

“What’s going on with you, Hails?” Dean sighed as he leaned against the wall close to the shower.

“Nothin’,” I muttered.

“Bullshit,” Dean retorted sharply.

“Like you got room to talk,” I grumbled. “How are you feeling, Dean? You wanna talk? Share our feelings?”

“Stop it, Hailey,” Dean ordered.

I huffed and rolled my eyes. I lifted myself out of the now lukewarm water. I grabbed a towel and dried myself off, ignoring the nearly incinerating look Dean was throwing my way. It annoyed me to no end that I basically had to share my feelings, but my brothers were allowed to stow their feelings and breakdown or whatever the fuck they wanted to but nope everything I did have to have an explanation. I couldn’t just break down, I had to have motives and reasons. I just went for a walk and everything sorta hit me. Of course, I could just say that but knowing my brothers they would want to know everything, and I just couldn’t tell them. I quickly threw on a sweatshirt and a pair of pajama pants and then turned around to see that Dean was still giving me a nasty look. I was saved from whatever Dean was planning, most likely a lecture of scathing proportions, when the front door swung open. Honestly, Dean didn’t even have to say anything I could already hear it now: don’t go out by yourself, it’s dangerous, you should still be taking it easy, blah, blah blah.

Dean and I walked out of the bathroom one behind the other ignoring the questioning look that Sam was giving both of us. I grabbed my burger, fries, and a chocolate shake and plodded down at the table on the other side of Aiden’s. We ate quietly for a little while before Dean decided that we should talk about the hunt again. You know the one that Sam thinks doesn’t exist.

“So, I found something out when I was working my imaginary case,” Dean started.

“Yeah, and?” Sam asked.

“Well, you were right, I didn’t find much,” Dean began. “Except Angela’s boyfriend died last night, slit his own throat. But, you know, that’s _normal_. Let’s see, what else? Oh, he was seeing Angela everywhere before he died. But you know, I’m sure that’s just me transferring my own _feelings_.”

In an instant, Dean destroyed any idea of appetite. Sam looked like he had just been slapped…again. While Aiden just put down his burger and glowered at both Sam and Dean.

“Okay I get it,” Sam groaned. “I’m sorry, maybe there’s something going on here.”

“Maybe?” Dean growled. “Sam, I know how to do my job, despite what you may think.”

Sam gulped before saying, “We should check out the guy’s apartment.”

“Did it,” Dean said. “Found a pile of dead plants, just like the cemetery. Hell, dead goldfish, too.”

“Unholy ground?” Aiden asked.

“Maybe,” Dean sighed. “But I’m still not getting that powerful, ‘angry spirit’ vibe from Angela.”

“Maybe she isn’t a spirit,” I suggested.

“Maybe,” Dean muttered. “I’ve been reading this, though.”

I watched as Dean got up and went to his duffle pulling out a pink book. He spun around and held it up.

“You stole the girl’s diary?” Sam scoffed.

“Dean, that’s a total breach of privacy,” I scolded.

“Please, the only reason you stopped keeping one was that we read it,” Aiden scoffed.

“Yeah, cause you’re a dick,” I retorted.

“Nice,” Aiden smirked.

“Anyway, children,” Dean rolled his eyes. “I’ve been reading this and if anything the girl’s a little too nice.”

“So, what do you wanna do?” Sam questioned.

“Keep digging,” Dean ordered. “Talk to more of her friends.”

“You got any names?” Aiden raised an eyebrow.

“You kidding me?” Dean laughed throwing the book to Aiden, “I have her best friend in the whole wide world.”

“You’re twisted,” I shook my head.

“Whatever,” Dean rolled his eyes. “Sam and I will pay this guy a visit first thing in the morning.”

I narrowed my eyes but didn’t say a word. Just like that, the youngest fell off of first string and back to the bench at least I had company. After that wonderful dinner conversation, we all got ready for bed. I slipped into the bed closest to the door. Normally that wouldn’t be the bed I was allowed to take. My brothers liked me being closer to the wall so if anything happened to come into the room it would have to go through them first. But, today I was sharing the bed with Dean, so I guess the rules were suspended. I rolled over and burrowed myself under the covers as one of my brothers turned off the lights.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was just moving over to AO3 as is. Now, it's been edited/modified as I go. Thank you for the follows and kudos, they make my day.


	14. Save Your Breath

When I woke up the next morning I instantly realized that Sam and Dean were gone. Aiden was sprawled on the bed next to mine as I stretched and walked to the bathroom. Just as I was about to go through the threshold of the bathroom entrance, I tripped and nearly fell headfirst into the wall. I grimaced and looked behind me. Aiden’s jeans were in the direct path to the bathroom. He always did this leaving his crap everywhere. I shot a glower at Aiden’s sleeping form as I picked up his jeans to fold them when a small baggy fell onto the floor. I folded Aiden’s jeans and tossed them on his bed as I stooped to get the small baggy. I held it up to my gaze and sighed. Within the baggy was a white powder. I looked at between Aiden and the bag.

“Aiden!” I shouted.

“Wha?” Aiden yawned shooting up “What’sa matter?”

“What is this?” I asked.

“You went through my stuff!” Aiden growled getting out of bed, now entirely awake.

“No,” I replied. “I tripped over your damn jeans and folded them for you. This fell out. Please, tell me it isn’t what I think it is.”

“Give it to me,” Aiden shouted.

“I can’t believe you!” I shouted. “Coke? Are you fucking stupid?”

“Hailey, give it to me!” Aiden warned.

“No way,” I scoffed. “Is this why you’ve been so mellow lately? Toking up so you don’t have to think about Dad?”

“Shut up,” Aiden barked.

“Jesus Christ, Aiden,” I sighed. “Dean’s gonna fucking kill you.”

“Oh, really?” Aiden sneered. “He’s not going to fucking find out because you’re going to keep your goddamn mouth shut!”

“Forget it!” I yelled. “You think you’re just going to take this and everything will be okay again? You’re going to get yourself killed or one of us. Is that what you want, Aiden?”

I raised my chin defiantly as Aiden closed the distance between us and kept moving until his face was inches away from mine.

“I’m going to say this once, give me what’s mine,” Aiden warned.

“Or you’ll what?” I growled, dangerously.

“Give it to me and you won’t have to find out,” Aiden responded, tersely.

“Go fuck yourself,” I snarled.

I immediately ducked under his arm and ran into the bathroom. I locked the door behind me and moved purposefully to the toilet, pouring the powder into the toilet and flushing it.

“Hailey!” Aiden yelled.

“I’m doing this to help you,” I replied.

“Help me?” Aiden shouted.

_‘Oh, god, Dean, Sam, please come back and hurry,’ I thought._

The lock on the door was flimsy at best and the way Aiden was throwing his body against the door and it was only a matter of time before it gave way. I had never been legitimately afraid of one of my brothers before. Sure, Aiden and I fought but it wasn’t going to be like any fight we ever had.

Within the pecking order of the Winchester family, Dad had the most authority followed by Dean, then Sam, then Aiden, and then me. As the youngest, I had no one to boss around and while Aiden didn’t have that much weight to throw when it came down to it I listened to him because that was what was expected of me. He never could make me listen or discipline me, but Dean would and could and I learned really quick to do what Aiden told me to.

This, however, was one of the only times I could disobey Aiden and not get in trouble. But, Aiden was pissed. I had never seen my brother so angry or out of control. Aiden was the calm one. He was always so laid back and collected. Of course, he had his moments of anger, but it was Dean and me who was the belligerent ones. The door flung open, nearly splintering in half as it banged against the wall. Aiden marched through and I stood up, prepared to fight. I raised my hand for a punch when I noticed Aiden’s pupils, they were nearly completely dilated.

“You took some didn’t you?” I whispered. “Before going back to sleep. How long?”

“Shut. Up!” Aiden growled.

“Oh, Aiden,” I whispered.

Suddenly the right side of my face burned. I let out a small yelp as Aiden backhanded me across the face sending me sprawling to the floor. I moved to kick Aiden’s legs out when I heard the whoosh of a belt coming out of Aiden’s belt loops. What the hell? I growled moving to the side just as Aiden moved to smack me and kicked up and out sending Aiden flying in the opposite direction. Aiden jumped to his feet growling, the belt lay discarded on the floor, but I saw Aiden glance at it before he glared at me. Suddenly, Aiden came at me with a right hook that literally skimmed the top of my head as I ducked. I jumped up and sunk my elbow into his solar plexus and another elbow at his head. Both of which connected. Breathing heavily, and obviously pissed off that I had gotten in a blow, Aiden came at me again throwing punch after punch. Those punches had me scrambling away and suddenly Aiden swung his hand out, backhanding me across the face, once again I crumbled to the ground. Angry tears sprang into my eyes as I felt betrayed. I knew Aiden was high as anything right now, but he had never fought this dirty. We weren’t trained to do that. Cocaine may give someone violent tendencies especially when said cocaine had been flushed down the toilet. While I knew that this person was not my brother it didn’t stop the pain I was feeling.

I planted my hands on the floor as I spun around launching myself up and kicking out knocking Aiden straight back. I heard him grunt as my feet connected against his chest and would’ve felt bad if he wasn’t trying to belt and or kill me. When he started coming back at me, I quickly aimed a kick at his head, which knocked him slightly off balance, so I punched left. Aiden ducked away at the last second punching me in the side. I managed to stay on my feet and leapt up and kicked sideways. The force of the blow knocking him down and almost taking me, but I managed to stay on my feet. Before I could even think about my next move Aiden sprang up and punched me in the stomach. All the air came out of my lungs as I doubled over, and I blinked black spots dancing in front of my eyes.

 While I was trying to catch my breath, Aiden pushed me down to the ground aiming another kick at my side; I rolled away at the last second and kicked sideways knocking him back to the ground. We both got up and glared at each other, Aiden moved first getting me right in the face. My head snapped backward, and I felt the blood start pouring. I saw my quick opportunity to finish this fight for good and launched into a flying roundhouse kick knocking Aiden off his feet again and then aimed a punch at his face.

He seemed very disoriented and didn’t get himself until after I had handcuffed him to the towel rack. I gasped for air, putting my hands on my knees as I got my breath back.

“Hailey!” Aiden warned, “let me go.”

“Yeah, uh let me think about this,” I scoffed, “fuck, no.”

“Hay, I’m fucking serious, take these things off,” Aiden seethed.

“Ya didn’t ask too nicely there,” I raised an eyebrow. “I think I’m gonna clean myself up.”

“Hailey!” Aiden shouted.

“Oh, and, Aiden?” I hissed my eyes turning into a blazing inferno as I allowed my ire to increase, “If you ever try to whip me again, I’ll strangle you.”

“I’m not afraid of you,” Aiden snapped.

“You should be,” I rolled my eyes, “I just kicked your ass.”

“Right back at you, little sister,” Aiden sneered.

“Yeah, you did,” I shrugged. “But you’re the one who is handcuffed to the towel rack right now.”

“What the fuck is going on here?” I heard an angry voice shout, otherwise known as the voice of Dean.

“Well, hello there, Dean,” I smirked.

 “Hailey Jade,” Dean began as he pushed his way into the bathroom. “What the hell is Aiden doing handcuffed to the towel rack.”

“Ask the junkie yourself,” I grumbled trying to brush past Dean to get into the main room, but he held out an arm and glared down at me.

“That’s not funny, Hailey,” Dean sighed.

“Wasn’t joking,” I shrugged.

“Hailey, I swear to god,” Aiden growled.

“Fuck off, Aiden,” I snapped, “Don’t even start with me.”

“Why don’t you undo the cuffs, so we can settle this,” Aiden hissed.

“Aiden, this isn’t you talking,” I whispered.

“Shut up!” Aiden spat.

Dean looked between Aiden and me looking severely pissed off as he gestured for me to sit down. He stalked over to Aiden and grabbed his chin so that he could meet his eyes.

“You high?” Dean growled.

“No,” Aiden muttered.

“Aiden, so help me god, if you lie to me one more time…” Dean hissed. “I’ll ask again, and I just did.”

Aiden attempted to jerk his chin out of Dean’s hold and that was answer enough. Dean released Aiden’s chin with a growl, smacking him upside the head.

“What did you take?” Dean demanded.

“Coke,” Aiden whispered.

“Why?” Dean responded. “Aiden, why would you do this? How long?”

“I didn’t wanna feel anything,” Aiden sighed. “And for a week, maybe two.”

“You addicted?” Dean growled.

“Dean!” Aiden whined.

“Hailey, get outta here,” Dean ordered sharply. “I need to talk to Aiden alone.”

“Where’s Sam?” I asked.

“Outside,” Dean replied. “Go.”

“Aye, aye, captain,” I mocked; ignoring the glare that Dean threw my way as I went out of the bathroom.

I tried not to listen as I heard random bits of Dean yelling at Aiden, while Aiden attempted to explain himself. When I heard a shout I stopped looking wide-eyed at the door to the bathroom that had been slammed closed after me. I heard the sound of water going before someone was thrown in. Going by Aiden’s protest the water must’ve been freezing. I couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him.

Sure, his way of dealing with Dad’s death was far from okay. We might run credit card scams and hustle as a means to an end but neither Dad nor Dean accepted drugs, ever. They messed with your logic and perception and could get you killed especially if we were on a hut, which we presently were. I had no idea where Aiden had even gotten that shit but still, this was bad. And, if the sharp even tones of Dean’s lecture were enough to go by Aiden would be hearing about this stunt for weeks to come.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked. “Where are Aiden and Dean?”

“Bathroom,” I said.

“Why?” Sam asked.

“I found Aiden’s drug stash this morning,” I explained.

“He’s back on that shit?” Sam groaned.

“Back?” I growled. “What the hell do you mean back?”

“He took some in school occasionally,” Sam said. “Helped him stay up and do his assignments faster.”

“He was addicted?” I asked.

“No, he took it like ADD medication,” Sam sighed. “I thought he gave it up after I had caught him doing lines, but I guess since Dad’s death he started back up.”

“Yeah, well, Dean’s pissed,” I shrugged.

“So, I’ve gathered,” Sam said.

The door opened a few minutes later with Dean leading Aiden out. He was soaked and looked to be completely sobered up. His eyes were rimmed red and if I didn’t know better I would think that Dean had whipped him, but I didn’t hear anything like that. Besides Dean could lecture better than Dad ever could, reducing someone to tears within a few sharp sentences.

My eyes widened as I took in the fact that Aiden was still handcuffed his hands behind his back. Dean pushed Aiden down on the bed and Aiden sat up leaning against the headboard as Dean pulled up Aiden’s duffle bag and began searching through every article of clothing and anything else Aiden had. Ten minutes later two more baggies were discovered and then when Dean was sure they were all gone, he took Aiden’s cut from the last poker game.

“Hailey, bathroom, now,” Dean ordered. “Sam, watch him.”

Aiden huffed and hung his head as I went into the bathroom with Dean following at my heels. When I got into the bathroom, Dean closed the door.

“Hi?” I asked.

“He got you good,” Dean sighed. “Then again it seems like you gave as good as you got.”

“’M fine,” I grumbled.

“Hailey, shut up,” Dean sighed.

“I think I’d know if I was okay or not,” I shrugged.

“Hailey Jade, I swear to god…” Dean began.

“Aiden’s the one who did that shit,” I retorted. “I don’t know why you gotta treat me like I did anything wrong. He came at me first, I defended myself. He was gonna fucking whip me, Dean.”

“Watch the language,” Dean scolded. “And I know what he did. He told me. I promise you he’ll never do anything like this ever again.”

“He’s done it before!” I shouted. “Sam said he did it in school.”

“Well, he isn’t doing it again,” Dean snapped. “Now, let me fix you up and then you’re coming with Sam and me to finish this damn case.

“What about Aiden?” I whispered.

“Aiden is gonna be shackled to the bed,” Dean said.

“Dean,” I sighed.

“Hailey,” Dean warned.

I knew when to not push Dean any further and I wisely shut my mouth. I didn’t want to get my ass kicked just because Aiden was the one who messed up. If Aiden was going to stay there than I had no say in the matter. I winced when Dean dapped rubbing alcohol on the split in my lip and the cut on my eyebrow. Other than that I really only had a few sporadic bruises that could easily be covered.

Once I was patched up I walked out behind Dean and followed Sam and Dean out of the motel room. Aiden was fast asleep and had been restrained to the bed. I felt bad for him, but I knew that Dean wasn’t going to let Aiden go anywhere without him and especially not in the middle of a hunt when he was still coming off the high.

“Okay, so what’s going on?” I asked.

“So far, we think that Angela’s a vengeful spirit,” Dean said. “She got revenge on her ex-boyfriend, so it might be over. But we’re gonna burn the bones to make sure.”

“What?” Sam responded. “Angela died last week.”

“So?” Dean asked.

“There’s not gonna be bones,” Sam explained. “There’s gonna be a ripe, rotting body in the coffin.”

“Since when are you afraid to get dirty, huh?” Dean scoffed.

There was no other way to slice this other than this was absolutely fucking disgusting. Digging up graves was normally gross but digging up the grave of someone who had barely died a week ago? Yeah, that took the cake on disgusting things I’ve had to do list. Dean, Sam, and I were working as fast as we could. When one of us finally banged against the wood of the coffin, we threw the shovels out. It was nearly sunrise, we were going to have to work fast.

“Ladies first,” Dean prodded.

“No way,” I retorted.

“Hold that,” Sam sighed as he passed his flashlight to Dean.

What we were expecting when Sam opened the coffin was a body, but that wasn’t what we got. Instead, the coffin was empty.

“What the hell?” I hissed as my brothers exchanged glances.

“They buried the body four days ago,” Dean growled.

“I don’t get it,” Sam muttered and then paused, tilting his head. “Look.”

We looked to where Sam was pointing, there were strange symbols engraved in the wood.

“What is that?” I asked.

“Not sure,” Sam replied.

“I’ve seen these symbols before.” Dean spat.

Sam and I exchanged an uh-oh glance as we followed after Dean towards the impala. We drove to a nearby diner where we had breakfast before Dean drove to someone’s house. Judging by the rigid set of Sam’s shoulder’s he wasn’t too happy about where Dean was stopping.

“Stay out here,” Dean ordered to me.

“Okay,” I sighed.

I watched my brothers walk up to the house, Dean banged on the door and I raised a brow. He seemed really angry. When they went into the house I looked around. It was a nice neighborhood, but it was a place that I could never imagine myself growing up. I sighed and glanced at the door already tired of waiting. I didn’t have to wait too much longer, a few minutes later Sam and Dean burst out of the house moving quickly down the stairs.

“What the hell is the matter with you, Dean?” Sam demanded storming after Dean.

“Back off,” Dean retorted.

“That man is innocent!” Sam shouted. “He didn’t deserve that!”

“Okay, so she’s not here,” Dean shrugged. “Maybe he’s keeping her somewhere else.”

“Stop it!” Sam groaned. “That’s enough, okay? Enough!”

“Guys…” I tried to interrupt but they both ignored me.

“Sam, I know what I’m doing,” Dean growled.

“No, you don’t!” At all,” Sam responded. “Dean, I don’t scare easy, but man, you’re scaring the crap outta me.”

“You’re being overdramatic, Sam,” Dean warned.

“You’re lucky this turned out to be a real case, cause if it wasn’t, you would’ve just found something else to kill!” Sam snapped.

“What?” Dean asked.

“You’re on edge, you’re erratic,” Sam stated. “Except for when you’re hunting, cause then you’re downright scary. You’re tail spinning, man. And you refuse to talk about it and you won’t let me help you!”

“I can take care of myself, thanks,” Dean sighed.

I huffed and rolled my eyes. Dean set me a stern glare before facing Sam again. I knew that they were still fighting just like they had been that entire hunt, but Sam was telling the truth and while it sucked it needed to be said.

“No, you can’t!” Sam growled. “And you know what? You’re the only one who thinks you should have to. You don’t have to handle this on your own, Dean, no one can.”

“Sam, if you bring up Dad’s death one more time, I swear,” Dean hissed.

“Stop, please, Dean, it’s killing you, please,” Sam pleaded. “We’ve already lost Dad. We’ve lost Mom. I’m not gonna lose you too.”

“We better get out of here before the cops come,” Dean said after a pause.

“Cops?” I whispered.

Dean noticed that Sam was frowning, “I hear you, okay? I’m being an ass, and I’m sorry. But right now we got a friggin zombie running around and we need to figure out how to kill it. Right?”

“Our lives are weird, man,” Sam whined.

“You’re telling me,” Dean replied. “Come on. Hails get into the car.”

“Hailey, do this,” I muttered. “Hailey, do that. Hailey, sit. Good Hailey.”

“Hailey Jade get in the goddamn car,” Dean fumed.

I stuck out my tongue at him as I slipped into the backseat before Dean could smack me upside the head. Apparently, I had said that a little louder than I had intended. Oh well, it was truthful enough. I was always being ordered around. And, when I wasn’t being ordered around I would be tossed around like a human ragdoll. I made the resolution to gain more weight as it was completely obvious that one hundred twenty-five pounds was too easy for my brothers to maneuver me around. Proud of my realization I barely noticed that we were back at the motel. Sam and Dean went through the room and I went in after them immediately noticing that Aiden was fast asleep. I shook my head and settled down on the opposite bed.

“We can’t just waste the bitch with a headshot?” Dean demanded.

“Dude, you’ve seen too many Romero flicks,” Sam smirked.

“You are telling me there’s no lore on how to smoke ‘em?” Dean asked.

“No, Dean, I’m telling you there’s too much,” Sam sighed. “I mean there are a hundred different legends on the walking dead, but they all have different methods for killing them.”

Sam began leaving through Dad’s journal again, “Some say setting them on fire, one said…where is it? Right, here, feeding their hearts to wild dogs. That’s my personal favorite. Who knows what’s real and what’s a myth?”

“Anything in common?” I asked.

“Nope, but a few said silver might work,” Sam shrugged.

“Silver’s a start,” Dean replied.

“How’re we gonna find Angela?” Sam asked.

“We gotta figure out the person who brought her back,” Dean said.

“Ideas?” Sam prodded.

“I think if it’s not her dad, it might be that guy, Neil,” Dean answered.

“Neil?” Sam asked. “How’d you come up with that.”

“Well, you’ve got your journal,” Dean grinned. “And I’ve got mine. ‘Neil’s a real shoulder to cry on. He so understands what I’m going through with Matt.’ And there’s more in here where that came from. It’s got unrequited Duckie love written all over it.”

“Doesn’t mean he brought her back from the dead,” Sam said.

“Did I mention that he’s Professor Mason’s TA?” Dean raised an eyebrow “Has access to all the same books.”

“Let’s go,” Sam said.

“I’m staying here,” I responded.

“Hails,” Dean went to argue.

“No, Dean, I’m gonna stay with Aiden,” I interrupted.

“You call if anything goes wrong,” Dean ordered.

“Okay,” I nodded.

Sam and Dean left quickly after that and I realized that the hunt would most likely be over tonight. I sighed and sat on the bed next to Aiden’s just watching as he slept. I shuddered suddenly remembering the crazed look in his eye as we fought. I had never seen Aiden that out of control before. I must’ve dozed off because when my eyes opened it was Aiden who was staring at me.

“Hails,” Aiden whispered.

“Aiden,” I muttered straightening up.

“Hailey, I’m sorry,” Aiden said.

“It wasn’t you, Aiden,” I shrugged. “It’ll be okay.”

I stiffened when I heard a sudden sob. I wheeled around slowly and saw that Aiden was crying. My heart fell into my stomach. I had seen all my brothers cry before, but it always felt horrible when I saw one of them crying. They normally never cried so when they did it shocked me.

“Aiden,” I sighed.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” Aiden cried. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I replied.

I moved forward and unlocked his handcuffs. I yelped a little when Aiden wrapped his arms around me, crushing me into his chest. I felt his tears falling on my head. I hugged him back and let Aiden cry him out.

“I miss him, Hails,” Aiden muttered.

“I do too,” I whispered. “But he’s still watching out for us. He has to be.”

“He’s still gone,” Aiden whimpered. “The one person who I thought could never be gone was just like that.”

“We’re gonna be okay, Aiden,” I replied. “You have to believe that.”

“I know,” Aiden groaned. “It’s just hard.”

“I know,” I nodded. “But it’s gonna be okay.”

“’M scared,” Aiden confessed.

“Of what?” I questioned.

“Detoxing,” Aiden whispered.

“We’ll be right there with you, Aiden,” I vowed.

I don’t know how long we stayed wrapped up in each other’s arms, but it didn’t matter. I knew Aiden wasn’t letting go anytime soon and I was content to just lay on him. It was like old times of us just cuddling when we watched TV or something. It just felt right again. Sometimes it was awesome being so much smaller than my brothers because if and when I ever sat in their laps I fit comfortably.

I was leaning against Aiden’s chest, his arms wrapped around me when my phone began to ring.

“Hello?” I answered.

“Hails, I need you to pack up the room,” Dean said.

“Okay,” I replied. “Zombie dead?”

“Yeah,” Dean nodded. “But geek boy broke his wrist.”

“Great,” I muttered.

“We’ll stop at a hospital on the way out of the state,” Dean said. “We’re five minutes out.”

“Got it,” I nodded before disconnecting the line.

“What’s going on?” Aiden asked.

“We need to pack up,” I said.

“Alright,” Aiden shrugged.

We packed up everything as fast as we could. When all the duffels were packed up, Aiden swept the salt off the floor while I put the charms back into Dean’s bag. I heard the impala roar into a parking lot. And then we put the duffels into the trunk before climbing into the backseat with Aiden.

We were nearly out of Lawrence when Dean pulled the impala over. Without waiting he pulled the key out of the ignition and then got out of the car. Sam, Aiden, and I followed after Dean who had leaned against the front of the impala. I stood in front of Dean while Aiden and Sam were on either side.

“Dean, what is it?” Sam asked.

“I’m sorry,” Dean muttered.

“For what?” Aiden asked.

“The way I’ve been acting,” Dean sighed. “And for Dad. I mean, he was your dad, too. It’s my fault he’s gone.”

_‘Oh, god, Dean had figured it out,’ I thought with a small amount of dread._

“What are you talking about?” Sam asked.

“I know you’ve been thinking it, so have I,” Dean explained. “Doesn’t take a genius to figure it out. Back at the hospital, I had a full recovery. And it was a miracle. Then, five minutes later, Dad’s dead and the Colt’s gone.”

“Dean…” Sam tried.

“You can’t tell me there’s not a connection there,” Dean grumbled. “I don’t know how the demon was involved. I don’t know how the whole thing went down exactly. But Dad’s dead because of me. And that much I do know.”

“We don’t know that,” Aiden retorted.

“Not for sure,” Sam continued.

“Sam, you, Dad, Hailey, and Aiden are the most important people in my life,” Dean said. “And now, I never should’ve come back. It wasn’t natural. And now, look what’s come of it. I was dead, and I should’ve stayed dead.”

I watched as Dean’s bottom lip began to quiver and his voice began to break, “You wanted to know how I was feeling. Well, that’s it. So, tell me, what could you possibly say to make that all right?”

Dean looked at Sam as tears streamed down his voice. Sam looked at a loss for words. Was there really anything to say that could make this all right? I knew that there wasn’t one thing that would make Dean feel better, but I had to try to do something.

“It was Dad’s choice,” I whispered. “And we all love him, but we love you too. What happened was a miracle and we all owe you so much.”

Tears still streamed down Dean’s face as he internalizing what I had said. A few seconds’ later Dean’s arms opened, and I needed no other invitation, throwing myself into them. This hunt had been ridiculously hard and between finding out that Dean was far from okay to Aiden’s random drug use. It had been hard, but Aiden was right it was going to be hard but we’re all going to be okay.

 


	15. Unbreakable

For the first time, we had no idea where we should be going. We had already been at Bobby’s house for more than a month when we were all recuperating, so it was a little early to go back. The roadhouse was, for once, out of the question. With Aiden currently withdrawing from his little cocaine habit, the environment that the roadhouse had was going to be detrimental. After all, Dean had made it perfectly clear that Aiden wasn’t allowed in bars for anything, hustling, drinking, nothing. It might be harsh, but drugs were hindrances and until Aiden was done withdrawing the Winchester family in its entirety had been sidelined from hunting until further notice.

I had no idea where Dean was even driving too or if he was driving just to drive. I sighed squirming around in my seat. As the smallest Winchester, I had more room in the impala than Sam, Aiden or Dean. My feet were currently in Aiden’s lap as I was leaning against the door. My computer was on my lap as I talked to Trevor on instant messaging. He had a hunt out in California and had no idea what it was. He originally thought it was a werewolf, but the lunar cycle wasn’t right. I suggested that it could be a spirit especially since when all the bodies were found the heart was still intact.

After talking to Trevor for about an hour I finally realized that Dean had turned off of the main hallway and was currently driving up the back roads.

“Dean, where are we?” I asked.

“New York,” Dean answered. “Upstate.”

“Oh,” I said. “All right.”

“Dad still has a place out here,” Dean said. “I figured we’d shack up for a couple of weeks.”

“No,” Aiden said.

“What?” Dean asked.

“No cabin,” Aiden muttered.

“Ads, the cabin’s protected, remember?” I explained.

“It’ll find us,” Aiden growled. “Always finds us.”

It was then I caught sight of Aiden’s eyes. They were glazed over and he kept muttering about Azazel under his breath. I finally realized what he was going on about. It was in that abandoned cabin where we last saw Dad and the demon.

“Dean?” I whispered.

“He’ll be fine,” Dean said shortly.

When we parked, tension and anxiety were radiating off of Aiden in waves. I looked at Dean and back at Aiden. Sam and I were carrying all the bags as Dean tried to get Aiden out of the car. I wanted to stay and help but Sam nudged me forward.

“No!” Aiden shouted. “I’m not going in there.”

“Yes, you are, Ads,” Dean retorted wrenching Aiden bodily out of the impala.

“Dean, please, no,” Aiden begged.

“Aiden this place is completely protected, we’re safe out here.” 

“Never safe.” 

“You were safe at Stanford,” Dean pointed out.

“No,” Aiden shook his head. “No.”

“Aiden, it’s okay."

“NO!” Aiden shouted.

I heard a thud and a muffled curse as Aiden attempted to run away.

“Dean, maybe we should go somewhere else,” I suggested.

“Hailey, this is the safest place for him right now,” Dean said. “This is just part of the withdrawal.”

“Dean, you have him in a headlock,” I mumbled.

“He tried to run,” Dean shrugged and then addressed Aiden, “You ready to go inside? And, you better think really hard about your answer here, buddy boy.”

“Dean, please,” Aiden pleaded.

“Ads,” Dean warned.

“Please,” Aiden whispered. “Please, Dean, don’t make me go in there.”

“These are the drugs talking, Ads,” Dean said. “I swear to you, it’s safe.”

Aiden seemed to finally give and started to walk with Dean into the cabin. Once we were all inside, Dean shut the and armed the security system. The was already a salt line around the house and iron around the entire property. There wasn’t anything evil getting anywhere near us. This was one of the bigger houses Dad had gotten for us. I really didn’t know how Dad could afford this place, but it didn’t really matter. We all had our own rooms and it was awesome. I ran up the stairs to my bedroom. It was on the rather plain side, but it was still mine and to me, that was all mattered. I settled in my room before running down to the kitchen and opening up the pantry. Ugh, just what I thought the only thing in the cabinets were cans and c-rations.

“Dean!” I shouted.

I realized that maybe I shouldn’t have shouted when both Sam and Dean came running into the kitchen guns at the ready. When they realized there was no visible threat the put the guns away and Sam walked out of the room. After all, I had only called Dean.

“Hailey Jade,” Dean growled. “How many times have I told you not to shout like that?”

“There’s no food in the house,” I retorted.

Dean shot me an are-you-serious look before rolling his eyes, “So?”

“I’m hungry,” I said.

“Then go get food,” Dean said.

“Really?” I asked.

“Go ahead,” Dean said and then thought about it for a moment. “Back here in an hour.”

“Yes, sir,” I mock-saluted.

I heard Dean mutter after me before I felt a light slap upside my head. I knew that he was being completely serious but, I was only going to the supermarket. Still, ever since the showdown with the demon, we had all been keeping pretty close tabs on each other. I was also surprised that Dean willingly handed over the impala’s keys. That showed exactly how worried he was about Aiden.

I climbed into the impala and drove into the closest town. When I found a supermarket I carefully parked the car and pocketed the keys. I grabbed a shopping cart and wheeled into the medium-sized supermarket. I went through every aisle getting everything from water to things to stock up the first aid kit. I also got all the junk food we’d need along with food to cook because who knew how long we were gonna stay there.

As I was getting checked out I glanced at my watch noticing that it was nearing the end of my hour time frame. One of the bag boys helped me load all the groceries in the trunk. When everything was in the trunk, I climbed back into the impala and drove back to the cabin. By the time I got back the sun was setting, and Dean and Sam were sitting outside waiting for me.

“Did I miss my curfew?” I scoffed as I got out of the car tossing Dean the keys.

“Hailey Jade,” Dean began.

“I got you peanut m&ms,” I interrupted.

“Damn straight you did,” Dean muttered. “Sam get the groceries.”

Sam glared at Dean before helping me carry in half of the food. Dean grabbed the case of water and together all three of us unpacked and made the cabin actually feel like a place we could stay. Luckily, we had a convinced our father a few years back to get a television and there was a gaming system for it along with the free cable that Aiden had hacked into. It was one of the closest things we had to a home. It was something that was just in our family and wasn’t Missouri’s house or the roadhouse. While they were home to, it wasn’t the same as when we were here.

“Where’s Aiden?” I asked.

“Asleep on the couch,” Sam said.

“Adorable,” I snickered.

“Hails, ya gonna cook any of this or not?” Dean prodded.

“Sure,” I shrugged.

“Hay, how’d you get the beer?” Sam asked.

“I got your favorite,” I responded.

“That wasn’t what he asked, Hailey,” Dean growled.

“I got your favorite too,” I shrugged.

“Hailey,” Sam and Dean warned together.

“Fake ID,” I answered.

“Those are for hunts only,” Sam scolded.

“If you don’t want it I can take it back,” I smirked.

“Now, now, let’s not be hasty,” Dean backtracked.

Sam and Dean both took a beer before going out into the living room. I shook my head and hid the beer way in the back of the fridge. I sighed as I began to cook deciding quickly to make a lasagna. As the lasagna was cooking I made mashed potatoes and a salad to go along with it. I put the salad and the mashed potatoes on the kitchen table, before setting the table as well. When the lasagna was ready I took it out and put it in the middle of the table, letting it cool for a few seconds before

“Guys!” I called. “Food!”

I heard the couch creak as Dean, Sam, and Aiden came into the kitchen. We all slid into the chairs as Dean began to dole out the food. It was mostly quiet as we were eating. I had taken a few bites of food when I realized what was missing. I grimaced and dropped my fork. Dad’s seat at the head of the table was empty. I was sitting next to Aiden and across from Dean and Sam. My brothers didn’t seem to notice, or they did and shrugged it off.

“You okay?” Aiden asked.

“May I be excused?” I whispered.

“You’ve barely eaten,” Dean replied.

“Just not hungry,” I shrugged. “May I be excused?”

“Yeah,” Dean sighed. “We’ll save you a plate.”

I was about to say don’t bother but quickly thought better of it, nodding tightly before slipping out of my chair and jogging up the stairs. I was just about to be on the second-floor landing when I paused and sat down on the top stair.

“That was weird,” Sam muttered.

“Tell me,” Dean responded. “She was the one who wanted food in the first place.”

“She was eating,” Aiden stated. “Then she suddenly stopped.”

“Give her some space,” Dean said. “I’ll check on her later.”

“Dean,” Sam retorted. “She’s been doing this ever since Dad died not eating or sleeping.”

“She was getting better,” Dean sighed.

“Regressing?” Sam suggested.

“No, she’s been eating and sleeping,” Dean replied. “I’ve seen her on no sleep. Besides, man, she doesn’t want to go to Spenser.”

“Spenser?” Aiden muttered. “Like where Reid Garwin goes?”

“Yeah,” Dean scoffed.

“Why would she go to Spenser?” Aiden questioned

“Because it’s not safe to hunt when you’re not one hundred percent,” Dean lectured. “Which is half the reason why we’re here in the first place. She’s fine.”

“Whatever you say, Dean,” Aiden scoffed

Yeah, I’m fine. Perfectly and completely fine. I shook my head and continued to my room. I closed the door after me and quickly logged into my computer. I notice that while Trevor wasn’t online, Reid was. I clicked the link as my webcam turned on.

“Hailey!” Reid exclaimed.

I couldn’t help but smile, he was in his senior year at Spenser Academy an elite boarding school in Ipswich, Massachusetts. He hadn’t changed a bit, he was tall and lanky with platinum blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was still in his Spenser uniform.

“Hey, Reid,” I greeted.

“I was wondering when I’d hear from you,” Reid said. “How’re you holding up?”

“Not so good,” I shook my head. “Not at all.”

“Talk to me, Hails,” Reid responded.

“It’s just been a rough couple of weeks,” I said. “And Aiden’s been doing coke.”

“Really?” Reid whispered. “Shit.”

“Yeah, we’re in one of our cabins, he’s in the middle of withdrawal,” I said. “He’s shaking and paranoid as hell.”

“Shit, Hails,” Reid hissed

“Yeah,” I shrugged. “What can I say? Just another fucked up incident in the life of a Winchester.”

“Don’t be like that, Hails,” Reid grumbled.

“Yeah, yeah,” I rolled my eyes. “How’ve you been? Giving Caleb hell like usual?”

“Naw,” Reid laughed. “Been pretty good with the magic lately. Oh, and guess who got into Brown and BU?”

“Aw, Reid, that’s awesome!” I smiled.

“Yeah,” Reid smirked. “Caleb and Pogue want Harvard, but I think baby boy and I are content with BU.”

“They’re both awesome schools,” I laughed.

“Yeah, well,” Reid shrugged. “What about you?”

“College?” I snickered. “Yeah, right.”

“Why not?” Reid asked.

“You know why,” I sighed. “Besides I got my GED years ago. I’m probably rusty as hell with the whole school thing.”

“I highly doubt that,” Reid argued.

“Whatever,” I sighed. “I should probably go.”

“Yeah, me too,” Reid smirked. “Study date.”

“Let me guess, anatomy?” I teased.

“Cute,” Reid rolled his eyes. “Stay safe, Hails.”

“You too,” I grinned

My cousin and his friends were witches, but they weren’t like the ones we hunted either. They were the Covenant of silence and had been around for centuries. Within the Covenant, each family had one heir, the eldest male who were the ones who would carry on the lines. The Garwin family was different primarily because Danielle and Joseph Garwin were both Reid and Charlie’s parents. Charlie is the older of the two. Reid and Charlie had the same mother and different fathers.

I logged out of my computer and collapsed on my bed, content just to listen to music and stare at the ceiling. My legs dangled off the side of my bed as I just listened to music. I wondered if all of this would eventually be easier. But the fact that it would one day be easier didn’t do anything to make me feel better. It felt like I was doomed to feel this way forever. Maybe it was just the life of a Winchester and if that was the case I might as well get used to it.

“Hails,” Dean called knocking on my door.

“Yeah,” I muttered.

Dean opened my door and shut it behind him as he walked over to my bed.

“Hay, listen…” Dean began.

“Dean, I’m fine,” I interrupted.

“Hailey Jade, you’re a crappy liar,” Dean snorted. “Talk to me.”

“I’m fine,” I repeated.

“Hailey,” Dean’s all gruff and warning with more than a little iron injected into his tone and I bristled.

Blue eyes met stern green in a dark glare. After a few moments, I broke eye contact switching my gaze back to the ceiling. Instead of leaving Dean leaned against the edge of my bed. I don’t know if Dean had given up or was just going to stay there until I cracked. Either way, it was clear he wasn’t going anywhere. Despite my intentions to keep silent, I sighed loudly.

“Come on, Hails,” Dean groused. “After a sigh like that, you can’t honestly tell me you’re fine.”

“Same shit, different day,” I shrugged. “Ow!”

Dean had smacked me on the leg and I glared at the back of my brother’s head. Sure, the guy had raised me but still for all I cursed Dean cursed ten times more.

“Watch the mouth,” Dean scolded.

“You are such a hypocrite!” I complained.

“It’s the perk of being the oldest,” Dean retorted smirking.

“I was just speaking the truth,” I replied. “Way to censor my feelings.”

“Oh, shut it, Hails,” Dean rolled his eyes, “What do you mean by ‘same shit, different day’?”

“I’ve been feeling the same thing for like two months,” I replied. “I figure I should just get used to it.”

“Get used to what?” Dean demanded.

“Feeling this way,” I shrugged in an offhanded sort of way.

“Feeling how?” Dean asked, his voice getting slightly more dangerous.

“I don’t know, Dean,” I groaned the palm of my hands grinding into my eyes attempting to stifle the tears that were coming.

I heard the floor creak as Dean got off the floor. Suddenly, I wasn’t in laying on my bed instead I was cradled in Dean’s arm as he sat down on my bed, keeping me on his lap safe in his arms. I huffed, attempting to fold my arms but Dean blocked the movement, so I instead wrapped one arm around his waist as my other hand grabbed his flannel. I shook my head I had to get over all of this. I didn’t see any of my brothers being this weak about the whole thing.

“Hails,” Dean whispered. “It’s okay.”

“No,” I grumbled.

“It’s okay to grieve, Hails,” Dean said. “It’s only been two months.”

“I don’t see you guys running around crying all the time,” I frowned.

“No, you see Sammy buried in books, Aiden toking up, and me becoming obsessive when it comes to hunting,” Dean corrected. “That doesn’t sound a hell of a lot better. Does it, baby?”

“I guess not,” I sniffed.

“So tell me what’s on your mind,” Dean insisted.

“You’ll get mad,” I whispered.

“No, I won’t,” Dean stated. “Just talk to me, Hailey.”

“I’ m glad it wasn’t you, Dean,” I whimpered. “I miss Dad but if it had been you, everything just would’ve been so much worse. I feel guilty as hell, but I can’t help the way I feel.”

Dean didn’t say a word, instead, he gripped me tighter as I cried into his neck. I felt a few tears fall on top of my head and I, in turn, tightened my hold on him. I don’t know how long I stayed like that, but I did know that in the middle of the night I felt Dean kiss my forehead as he tucked me into bed. He walked quickly and quietly trying not to wake me up, too bad I was already awake.

And that was what got me thinking. We weren’t on a hunt and it was only us, which immediately translated into the perfect setting for a prank war. I was brilliant. There was plenty of things we could do, and we had a lot of room. It wasn’t a small one-floor cabin, instead, it was four floors including an attic and a basement that had a full weapons arsenal. The entire floor of the basement was covered in padding so that we could spar. I loved the feel of this place because it felt like a wood cabin and that made me feel safe. I figured since I wouldn’t be sleeping anytime soon, it was my turn to draw first blood in this prank war.

I snuck into the kitchen and filled a small bowl with warm water. It was around three in the morning meaning that Sam would be fast asleep. I snickered to myself as I crept slowly into his room. Luckily Sam always had one hand dangling off the bed. I snuck up and placed his hand slowly into the warm water. I smothered a laugh as I ran back out of his room and into my own trying to get at least some sleep. I don’t know how long I was asleep for, all I knew was that by when I woke up it was anything but quiet.

“DEAN!” Sam yelled.

“What?” Dean demanded, “what is it?”

“Man, Dean, we’re not kids anymore!” Sam shouted. “We’re not starting this shit up again!”

“Start what up?” Dean asked.

“This prank crap,” Sam fumed. “It’s stupid and it always escalates.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Dean replied.

“Yeah right,” Sam scoffed. “You’re always behind this.”

“Really?” Dean grumbled. “I’m always behind this?”

I decided that now was the time to go out into the hallway where Sam and Dean were currently having a shouting match. Aiden went out into the hallway about the same time as I did, and we shrugged at each other.

“Guys, it’s ten thirty,” Aiden grumbled.

“Sorry, Aiden, Samantha here is being a bit dramatic,” Dean sneered.

“Dramatic?” Sam groused. “You’re the one who put my hand in warm water!”

“No, I didn’t!” Dean snapped.

“He’s right,” I grinned.

“Hailey?” Dean and Sam growled.

“Prank war,” I announced.

“No,” Sam fumed.

“Aw, what’s the matter, college boy, scared?” I teased.

“I blame you for this,” Sam snapped at Dean while gesturing at me.

“Hey!” Dean and I complained.

“Oh, come on,” Sam laughed. “Hailey’s like your female mini-me.”

“Don’t be jealous, Sasquatch,” Dean reproached. “I personally think it’s a good idea.”

“Well, then, let’s team it up,” Sam smirked. “You and Hailey vs. Aiden and I.”

“Works for me,” Aiden snickered.

“Bring it,” I challenged.

“You’re going to regret the warm water, Hails,” Sam vowed.

“Aw, what’s the matter, Sammy?” I sneered. “Don’t want Nair in your shampoo again.”

“Just remember you started this,” Sam muttered.

“Fine,” I retorted.

“Fine,” Sam grumbled.

The rest of the day passed by with little incident. Sam and Aiden must have been plotting while Dean and I played video games. I sighed as I made my way to the bathroom in order to have a hot shower. I loved this shower because it actually had some water pressure unlike the showers at most of the hotels where we normally stayed.

I stepped under the hot water and sighed. If I was being honest with myself I’d have to say that I really wasn’t feeling so well. And I knew instantly that I was probably getting sick from my jaunt in the rain a couple of days ago. Well, I was gonna be keeping this to myself especially since I really was not in the mood for another lecture about running around in inclement weather. I knew that I had to have some sort of cold medicine around somewhere, so I wasn’t really worried. I finished up my shower and wrapped a towel around myself. I walked over to the mirror and rubbed a hand across it. What I saw was not what I expected. My normally brownish blonde hair was currently purple.

“AIDEN!” I screamed because it couldn’t be anyone else. Sam valued his hair too much and ever since Dean had put Nair into his shampoo years ago he never retaliated with messing with anyone’s hair.

I quickly threw on one of Aiden’s old Stanford shirts along with a pair of cotton shorts. I tied my purple hair in a ponytail before galloping down the stairs. I found him by sitting on the couch looking pretty proud of himself until I tackled him to the ground. Aiden didn’t seem surprised by the hit going so far as to roll over in my hold so that he could laugh freely.

“Nice hair, Hails,” Aiden snickered.

“You’re such a dick,” I grumbled.

“At least purple’s your color,” Aiden grinned.

I glared at him before getting up and stomping to the kitchen. I opened the refrigerator door and attempted to take one of the beers, but Dean leaned over and grabbed it out of my hand, replacing it with water.

“Not cool, Dean,” I frowned.

“Underage,” Dean shrugged walking out of the room. He had just gone out of the kitchen when he backtracked and stared at me.

“I realize that my hair is purple,” I groaned.

Dean looked like he wanted to say something but thought better of it and shook his head.

“This better come out, Aiden!” I called.

“It will,” Aiden responded. “In two washes it says.”

“Karma’s a bitch, big brother,” I warned.

“Bring it on, midget!” Aiden laughed.

“Where’s Sam?”  I questioned Dean.

“No idea,” Dean shrugged. “Are you wearing pants?”

“Dean,” I groaned giving him a what-the-hell expression.

I glanced down and realized that my shorts were shorter than the tee shirt I was currently wearing but Aiden’s shirt was like a dress anyway. I smiled at him before going back into the living room sitting down near Aiden. He was currently playing Halo on the Xbox360 that we had gotten. I hooked up the other controller and soon we were knee deep in the game. Dean sat down on the lazy boy chair that used to be Dad’s, and for a moment we weren’t the Winchester hunting family, we were just a family, which was something we didn’t get to be very often. I smiled as I killed Aiden’s character and he smacked me half-heartedly in the shoulder.

After I won we began a new game of Halo. We were so focused on the game I didn’t even notice that Sam came back from wherever he was dropping down on my other side. I felt his eyes burning a hole in the side of my head and I rolled my eyes.

“It’s called hair dye, brainiac,” I snarked.

“I know,” Sam muttered shooting Aiden a look to which he shrugged in response.

After Aiden and I had lost to Dean it was decided that it was dinner time. As Dean reheated the food from last night, I sat at the table wondering where Sam had been all this time. I studied his profile carefully realizing that there really was no reason for him to leave unless he was getting something. And, if the way he was smirking at the back of Dean’s head was any indication it wasn’t gonna be good.

Dinner was once again a fairly quiet affair as we all ate out food. Aiden was stuck with cleaning the dishes as Dean, Sam, and I walked back to the living room. I sat in between Sam and Dean on the couch as Dean flipped through the TV channels looking for something to watch. I was stretched out in between the two with my head on Dean’s thigh and my feet in Sam’s lap. His hand was resting on top of my leg drumming a beat as we finally found some old horror movie to watch.

Aiden came in a little bit later and crashed in front of me. He leaned his head back against my stomach and one of my hands began to play with his hair. I felt him sigh as he stretched his legs out in front of himself. I think we had all seen nearly every horror movie ever made but we always watched them again. I really don’t know why, Dean always tended to ruin them, lecturing the characters as if they could hear him. While it was sometimes annoying, it was mostly entertaining. Tonight we were watching Friday the 13th, a movie that we had all seen at least ten times.

“God, stupid kids,” Dean tsked after the movie was over, “I swear…”

“Watch a few horror movies you’ll learn a thing,” Sam, Aiden and I interrupted and then grinned at each other.

Dean aimed a halfhearted swipe at all of us as we settled in to watch some other movie that must have come out recently. We didn’t get a chance all that often to watch the most recent movies, so when we could we did. I wasn’t exactly sure what movie this was, but it seemed okay enough.

After the last movie, Dean turned off the TV and we all began to go upstairs to get ready for bed. I was brushing my hair which, was beginning to lose its purple color, thank god, when I heard a scream followed by…

 _“Sam!”_ Dean yelled.

I snickered under my breath because when Dean said any of our names the way he said Sam’s…well, nothing good ever came from that voice. I went outside where I noticed that Dean was staring at Sam with his arms crossed, letting him feel the full weight of Dean’s glare as Aiden and I stood on the sidelines.

“Dean?” I asked.

“What’s going on?” Aiden questioned.

“There’s a fucking _hamster_ in my duffel bag,” Dean growled.

I laughed and then choked it into sounding like a cough when Dean pinned me with a dark look. Most people thought that Dean Winchester wasn’t afraid of anything, unfortunately, we all knew better. There were three things that Dean was afraid of, flying, one of us being seriously hurt, and rodents.

“I wonder how that got there,” Sam shrugged. “G’night.”

“Not so fast there, geek boy,” Dean corrected grabbing Sam’s wrist to stop him from moving. “Get that stupid thing out of my duffel and set it free. And god help you if it did anything in there.”

“What’s wrong, big brother?” Sam grinned. “Afraid of the little hamster?”

“Sam,” Dean warned.

Sam chuckled the entire way into Dean’s room and then emerged a few seconds later holding the hamster in his arms. I shook my head as Sam walked past me to go down the stairs looking entirely too pleased with himself.

“Clowns,” Dean growled. “We’ll see who is smiling when I find me a fucking blow up clown.”

At that comment, I laughed outright as Dean continued to mutter about what he was going to do with the clown. All I heard was put it in Sam’s closest so that it would pop out. As long as I didn’t have to see the freaking thing it was going to be fine because that was one phobia that Sam and I shared. But it would still be funny. I walked into my room and closed the door, making sure to lock it behind me. There were not enough precautions one could take when being smack-dab in the middle of a prank war.

I slept right through the night and woke up early enough to snag the first shower. I made sure to wash my hair a few times and then when the water stopped being purple, I knew the dye had run its course. I smirked and stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around myself as I walked back to my room. I changed into a tank top and a pair of jeans and walked all the way downstairs into the basement of the cabin.

I punched in the password code that kept the weapons room locked at all times and looked around. Things really hadn’t changed at all. I took a few guns and then walked back upstairs. I pulled on my sneakers and a sweatshirt as I darted out of the cabin and around the back. There were reasons why we had this much land to ourselves. It was mostly so that we could practice our shooting without getting arrested.

It was still early in the morning, the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon. I breathed deeply as I took in the old range that Dad had built. The targets were still there, which was pretty awesome. I took out one of the guns are leveled it at the target in front of me and it felt like I was ten years old again, with my father and brothers right by my side.

_It was the first time that my father had even let me hold a gun. He had knelt down so that we were eye to eye as he explained everything to me. He showed me how to turn the safety on and off and how to actually fire the gun. He explained that there were all sorts of ammo that we had ranging from rock salt to iron and everything in between. He then put the gun in my hands. It was slightly heavy, and I looked at it in awe. It was something that my brothers had been holding or years. And during all these years all I had was a little pig sticker, I couldn’t even hold the weapons bag. But, all of that was about to change. I was ten years old now and I was big enough to hold and even fire this gun._

_My little chest puffed out as I took in my brothers and father’s solid strength. With two hands I leveled the gun pointing it directly at the gun. I flipped the safety off and then fired. Dad said that you fire once, feel the recoil and timed the trigger pulls. I hit near and around the bullseye._

_“Good job, baby,” Dad praised._

_“You’re a natural,” Dean grinned._

_“The recoil didn’t even knock her down,” Aiden smirked._

_“Wow,” was all Sam could say._

A lot had changed between then and now. For one, I had finally gotten boobs and was more than five feet, although not by much. I also wasn’t that innocent anymore. I had seen real pain and felt real grief and the experience of either was enough to change someone permanently. I liked to think that I could be a hunter in my own right, but the truth was I knew that we all had a reputation, the one we had all earned together. Sure we all had our own reputations working but nothing commanded respect the way it did when we were all together.

“Hailey!” Aiden shouted.

I turned just in time to see Aiden running with guns blazing. I took in his disheveled appearance as he slid to a halt beside me looking for some unforeseen threat.

“Are you okay?” Aiden demanded. “Where is it?”

“Where’s what?” I asked.

“The demon!” Aiden yelled. “Where’d it go? You were shooting!”

“Aiden, it’s okay,” I soothed, “I was just practicing. You know demons can’t come in.”

Aiden still seemed suspicious as he grabbed my arm and began to drag me to the cabin his eyes moving constantly looking for something that wasn’t there. I wondered vaguely how long all of this would last because Aiden sure as hell couldn’t be hunting if he thought the demon was always going to be there. Aiden didn’t stop dragging me behind him until him and I was in the kitchen.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked.

“I was just practicing my aim,” I responded. “And then Aiden came out with two guns blazing.”

“The demon,” Aiden protested. “The demon was there.”

“Aiden, it wasn’t,” Sam soothed. “We’re all perfectly safe here. Now both of you put the guns back before Dean comes downstairs.”

Aiden seemed to take Sam at his word leading the way back down into the basement. He punched in the password code and we made sure to leave the guns exactly where we had found them. Figuring that it was better that Dean didn’t know about Aiden’s set back. Honestly, it was probably my mistake, sneaking out of the house early in the morning to do target practice of all things. And even if I did decide to practice I should’ve used a silencer.

“I’m sorry, Aiden,” I whispered as we began to walk back up the stairs.

“Don’t mention it, Hails,” Aiden responded.

I nodded my head as we walked back into the kitchen. I sat down after pouring myself a cup of coffee. Suddenly Aiden dropped down across from me with at least five spoons in his hand.

“Aiden?” Sam asked.

“Bend these,” Aiden ordered looking directly at me.

“What?” I grumbled.

“You’re a spoon-bender, aren’t ya?” Aiden asked.

“Aiden,” I sighed.

“Come on, Hay you can bend them right back.” Aiden smiled.

I rolled my eyes and decided to bend the spoons if only to get Aiden off my back. I had just started to bend them when Dean came into the room, throwing off my concentration so that my partially full cup of coffee went careening into the wall. Sam, Aiden, and Dean jumped and stared at me in shock.

“Oops,” I grimaced. “My bad.”

“What the hell happened to the spoons?” Dean asked eyeing the now shattered coffee cup.

“Hailey was showing off her powers,” Aiden said

“They aren’t powers,” I muttered. “And you told me too.”

“And what happened with the cup?” Dean questioned.

“Lost my concentration,” I muttered.

“Smooth, Hails,” Dean smirked. “Fix the spoons and clean up that mess, alright?”

“Okay, Dean,” I sighed.

I waved my hands over the spoons making it so that they were straight again. I then glanced at the shattered coffee cup and the pieces zoomed past Dean into the trashcan. I mopped up the spilled coffee before sitting back in my seat. I glanced up and saw the freaked out look on Dean’s face. He looked pale and there was something I couldn’t place in Dean’s eye.

That look right there was the whole reason why I kept my psychic abilities a secret from him because for as much as Dean sprouts on about wanting to know everything and attempting to keep an open mind there were just some things he wasn’t ready for. I quietly excused myself from the table and walked outside. I was in the backyard and turned around. The cabin had a flat rough and I quickly and efficiently climbed up the drainpipe. I scurried towards the window and sat down.

What the hell did Azazel want with us? With all of us? Why did both Sam and I have abilities? And why did my abilities seem so much more progressive than Sam’s did? All I knew was that it couldn’t be anything good. Once again, I felt that sudden crushing despair that had been lurking in the background even before Dad had died. It felt like my entire family was cursed. Dean was forced to constantly be watching our backs, barely paying attention to his own, Aiden was doing drugs and currently detoxing from them, and Sam and I were a part of some demon’s unknown plan. The Winchester’s were cursed there were no if, and, or buts about it.

“What is with you and finding high places?” I heard Sam’s voice come through the window.

I jumped slightly although I expected one of my brothers to come looking for me eventually. They never let me wallow for long. I snickered as Sam’s long limbs attempted to climb out of the window. A few minutes later, he had crashed down beside me and looked at me, obviously wanting his previous question answered.

“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Just something about them that makes me feel better.”

“So, you wanna talk about it?” Sam asked.

“Talk about what?”

“The fact that you nearly ran out of the kitchen,” Sam replied raising a brow.

“Dean,” I whispered.

“What about him?” Sam asked.

“He looks at me differently,” I muttered.

“Hails, the guy is trying,” Sam reproached. “This whole thing came on so suddenly that of course he isn’t gonna know how to react when he sees you openly using it.”

“He was so pale,” I whimpered.

“It’s not every day a cup goes flying by his head without any one of us touching it,” Sam responded.

I rolled my eyes resting my chin on top of my knee as I gazed out just looking at our property.

“Come on, Hails,” Sam coaxed. “It’ll get better soon. Just let’s get inside. You know how much Dean hates it when you climb things.”

“I break one bone twelve years ago and the man never let me hear the end of it,” I grumbled as I climbed back into the house.

“Hails, you broke your arm in five places by free falling from a tree,” Sam pointed out.

“I would’ve landed fine if Dean wasn’t screaming at me,” I pouted.

“Hailey, you fell like thirty feet to the ground,” Sam scoffed.

“Dean said I could climb the tree,” I retorted.

“Yeah, if you didn’t go too high,” Sam laughed, “or did you not remember the ‘Hailey! Too high!”

“Oh, right,” I grinned sheepishly.

“You scared him so bad,” Sam grimaced.

_“Dean, can I climb the tree?” I asked tugging on my older brother’s shirt._

_Dean who was sixteen at the time had to crouch down just to look me in my eyes, as he was already six feet tall. I, however, was not._

_“What’s with you and climbing things, monkey?” Dean teased._

_“I dunno,” I shrugged my small shoulders. “Please, Dean? I’ll be careful. I promise!”_

_“Alright, Hails, don’t go too high, you hear me?” Dean sighed._

_“Yes, sir!” I whooped._

_I ran over to a tree that actually had a branch near my head. I grasped it easily lifting myself onto the branch. After that I quickly bounced from one branch to the other until I thought that I was a suitable distance from the ground. I sat down on the branch and let my feet dangled off. I could see the entire park from here, including my brother Dean who was flirting with some girl and Sam who had his nose buried in a book, or at least he did, until he glanced right at the tree I was in._

_“Hailey!” Sam yelped._

_Noting the distress in Sam’s tone, Dean swiveled around quickly looking to where Sam’s eyes were gazing._

_“Hailey!” Dean shouted suddenly ignoring the girl, “too high!”_

_I shrugged at Dean before lifting myself off the branch and dangling off of it before letting myself go. I was just about to grab a branch when I heard Dean scream._

_“Hailey Jade, no!”_

_I was so surprised that I missed the branch and smacked into another before plummeting straight to the ground. I heard a crack and immediately began to cry. I heard two sets of boots come running at me before I was suddenly scooped up into Dean’s arm._

_“D-dean i-it hurts!” I wailed._

_“Shhh,” Dean soothed. “You’re going to be okay.”_

_“Dean that looks broken,” Sam corrected._

_“I know, geek,” Dean hissed._

_Sam and Dean walked together as Dean led me towards the closest medical clinic. It was at times like these where Dean really needed his own car. He had been dropping hints at Dad for the impala ever since he had gotten his real license and well, the old man hadn’t given it up yet._

_An hour later my arm was wrapped in plaster and Dean and Sam had taken a cab back to the motel room we were staying in. Sam and Aiden suddenly made themselves scarce as Dean crouched in front of me, his heavy-lidded eyes looking grave._

_“Hailey,” Dean frowned. “What did I tell you about climbing that high?”_

_“Sorry,” I whimpered._

_“You shouldn’t have jumped,” Dean scolded. “Scared me half to death.”_

_“’M sorry Dean,” I wailed lunging into Dean’s already open arms._

I shook my head as the memory raced to from the forefront of my mind back to where it belonged, “Yeah, Sam, I remember. Dean busted my ass so bad.”

“You didn’t listen to instructions,” Sam sighed. “And you got yourself hurt and scared him half to death, thereby guaranteeing yourself an uncomfortable couple of days, broken bone excluded.”

I rolled my eyes as Sam and I walked by the bathroom where someone was taking a shower. I pretended that I had to go get something from my room and Sam headed back downstairs. When I heard Sam and Dean talking downstairs I quickly realized who was in the showers. I smirked and picked the lock only opening it to stick my hand inside. I made a flushing movement with my fingers and the toilet flushed. Seconds later I heard Aiden’s shriek as the water temperature changed.  Losing any chance I had at my subtly charade I burst out laughing. The door swung open seconds later. A towel was wrapped around Aiden’s waist and his hair was soaking wet along with nearly everything else.

“'M gonna kill you,” Aiden vowed lunging forward, “c’mere!”

“All’s fair in love and prank war, genius boy,” I whooped and then yelped when Aiden suddenly charged forcing me to run down the stairs.

“That was so weak, Hails!” Aiden was growling.

“Don’t insult the classics!” I snickered running into the kitchen and hiding behind Dean.

“Aiden, I’d be very appreciative if you would wear some clothing,” Dean rolled his eyes.

“Move,” Aiden ordered. “M about to make sure that we’re down a sister.”

“You dyed my hair,” I protested. “I got you back.”

“Them’s the rules,” Dean shrugged.

“I’ll getcha back,” Aiden hissed.

“Sure ya will,” I grinned.

Dean and Sam looked slightly amused as Aiden stalked back out of the kitchen. The rest of the night passed by without incident. Dean ordered some pizza from town and we watched more movies. It wasn’t until we were about to go to sleep when I even remembered that the prank war was in full swing.

Two pranks happened fairly instantaneously. I stepped into a booby trap, a rope was wrapped around the ceiling fan leaving me dangling in the middle of my room. Before I could even begin to curse whoever was behind this, Sam let out a startled shriek.

“Dean!” Sam yelped. “You put a fucking clown in my closet?!”

“You put a hamster in my bag,” Dean shrugged and then looked into my open room, “Hails?”

“Hi, Dean,” I smirked.

“What are you doing?” Dean questioned.

“Just hanging around,” I shrugged.

Dean glared at me, rolling his eyes as he grabbed his pocketknife, cutting me loose.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“Alright, this prank war’s over,” Dean said.

“Dean, it’s fine,” I soothed.

“Is that the leg that you recently broke?” Dean demanded when I nodded my head he sighed. “That’s what I thought. This whole thing is over.”

After we all agreed to a truce, we headed to our separate bedrooms ready to sleep. It was the middle of the night when I woke up. I frowned trying to figure out why I had woken up when I was dead asleep moments before. It was then I realized that something was wrong. Something made me think that I had to go out into the hallway When I heard stifled sounds of whimpers and groans coming from Sam’s room, I burst into the door.  I found Sam on the ground clutching his head. His eyes were open, but he couldn’t see me. He was getting a vision. Why was he in so much pain when I could just use mine without consequence?

“Dean!” I shouted. “Dean! Come quick! Sammy’s hurt!”

Sam was moaning in pain as I crouched down in front of him, taking his face in my hands.

“Sammy?” I whispered. “What’s wrong?”

“My head,” Sam whimpered.

“Sam?” I yelped. “What’s going on?”

“Hails,” Sam gasped. “V-vision.”

“Dean!” I shouted. “Sammy’s having a vision! DEAN!”

Thankfully, Dean came racing into the room and gently pushed me out of the way. Aiden came running in too. And I sank onto Sam’s bed watching as Dean took over. We had never actually seen him have a vision before. It also wasn’t making any of us feel any better because of the fact he was in pain. When he seemed to be coming back around we all took a breath. Dean’s hands were still on Sam’s shoulders while one of Sam’s hands had Dean’s tee shirt in a death grip.

“What did you see, Sammy?” Dean asked

“I saw a dark room, some people, and a guy tied to a chair,” Sam whispered. “And you killed the guy.”

“I ventilated him?” Dean questioned.

“Yeah,” Sam answered. “You thought there was something inside him.”

“A demon?” Aiden suggested. “Was he possessed?”

“I don’t know,” Sam muttered. “But I know where we were.”

“Where?” Dean asked.

“River Grove, Oregon,” Sam stated.

“I don’t understand,” I responded. “You said that all your visions so far have been connected to the demon…”

“Was there any black smoke?” Dean asked. “Did we try to exorcize it?”

“No, nothing,” Sam shrugged. “You just plugged him.”

“Well, I’m sure I had a good reason,” Dean replied.

“I sure hope so,” Sam grumbled.

“Anyway, what should we do?” I asked.

“Everyone pack up,” Dean said. “We’ll leave in thirty. Hailey pack up the food, we’re bringing it with us.”

“Okay.”

And just like that, we were once again on the move. I vaguely wondered if Aiden was ready and I glanced at him. He seemed to notice my gaze and just nodded his head. He was saying that he’d be all right and I was going to believe him, I just hope this hunt didn’t backfire on us.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As you go through the story you may notice bits of other fandoms sneaking their way in. Mostly the Covenant and TVD, as I like the vampires and witches better in those universes so I added them to this one. Background knowledge in either the Covenant or TVD/The Originals is not required at all. As I basically pick what I want from canon and throw out everything else


	16. Another Thin Line

It was the longest we had ever taken a break from hunting. Well, that wasn’t true, we had taken longer breaks for recuperation periods. But, this was one of the first times where we actively fell off the map. Sure, Aiden had to detox but by the end of the jaunt even he was ready to leave, which was part of the reason why the prank war was as successful as it was.

The silence in the impala was nearly deafening. It was close to three in the morning and there was no one else on the road. The impala’s engine was slowly putting me to sleep. Sam’s phone was giving us directions and it would take nearly half the day to get to Oregon from New York. It was this part of why I hated being a hunter. We drove all over the country sometimes spending six hours in a car before rest stops. Sure, we could sleep, or talk, or even research the upcoming hunt but this time it felt different. We weren’t going off of the normal intel whether that was newspaper articles, the internet, or someone throwing us a lead. Instead, we were going off of something that Sammy had seen in his head.

I could tell that this whole thing didn’t sit right with Dean. Hell, I wasn’t even sure how I thought. The difference between my abilities and Sam’s was astounding. I wanted to know why I had stronger abilities and why mine didn’t make me feel like my head was going to explode. What could this mean and why were there two of us? Azazel had made it clear that there were others like us and there were probably a lot more.

“Hailey!” Dean called from the front seat.

I straightened up and looked towards Dean who was looking at me through the rearview mirror. I glanced at Aiden and Sam who were both looking at me too.

I looked around not seeing anything that was even remotely familiar. I frowned and glanced at the clock. We had only been driving for three hours and all I wanted was to get out of the car. Normally I was the one who was fine with long car rides. Especially since I was the only one who could fit in the impala comfortably. I could lie down in the back seat if I really wanted to. None of my brothers shared that luxury. I huffed a sigh and willed myself to sleep.

_“Well, well, well,” Azazel growled. “Long time, no see, Hailey Winchester.”_

_“What the hell do you want?” I hissed. Of course, when I was thinking of Azazel he’d randomly show up._

_“Is that any way to greet an old friend,” Azazel scolded._

_“Oh, excuse me,” I responded. “Go fuck yourself. Is that better?”_

_“Haven’t we had numerous discussions about this pesky little attitude of yours?” Azazel grumbled._

_I slammed against the wall and just like last time my stomach felt like it was being ripped open. I bit my lip in the effort it took not to scream._

_“I’m going to kill you!”_

_“Why because I killed Mommy and Daddy?” Azazel snickered. “I’m going to kill your brothers next.”_

_“Not if we kill you first.”_

_“Kiddo, people have been trying to kill me for centuries,” Azazel rolled his eyes. “You think you and your little band of halfwits are going to succeed?”_

_“Yeah,” I sneered. “I do.”_

_“Sure,” Azazel shook his head. “But this isn’t why I came.”_

_“Then why did you?”_

_“You think I haven’t heard your questions?” Azazel retorted. “You’re stronger because you accept your gifts, Sam fight’s his resulting in those headaches. There’re others like you to weed out who’s the strongest to be the commander and second in command. You were both chosen because you show a lot of potential and have an edge over your peers.”_

_“But the real question is can you actually take orders,” Azazel wondered aloud._

_Suddenly the pain in my abdominals flared to a white-hot pain. It gasped as Azazel continued to look at me and then just as quickly as it started it disappeared._

_“Until we meet again, Winchester,” Azazel said._

I rocketed out of my hunched over position before I hissed thankful that the impala didn’t have seatbelts.

“Hay?” Aiden whispered.

“Stop the car!” I shouted.

Dean stomped down on the break, but I was already out of the car before it came to a complete stop. I fell to my knees and threw up. I whimpered as wave after wave of nausea assaulted my body. Tears streamed out of my eyes as I vomited; the pain it was horrific on my abused stomach. I hissed breathing sharply. My hands were white-knuckled on the ground as I fought to get up. I felt a presence on either side of me as Aiden and Sam gently helped me stand. Dean held out a bottle of water looking at me with an unreadable expression.

“How much longer to Oregon?” I asked.

“A good chunk of the day,” Dean sighed. “it might even take two.”

“Terrific,” I muttered.

I climbed back into the impala and my brothers followed suit. We didn’t have time to waste. I took some painkillers when I thought no one was looking because staying in one hunched over position wasn’t really making my stomach feel any better. I knew without looking that it was bruised just like it was the last time.

One day later we finally pulled into River Grover, Oregon. It had taken nearly all my sanity as well as Dean’s patience. Rest stops were quick and tense as we got out to stretch our legs or grab something to eat. Dean drove slowly through the town until Sam spotted someone.

“He was there,” Sam says, pointing at a man putting together a gun on his porch.

We all got out of the car and made our way over to the man. Dean and Sam were in the front and Aiden and I was in the back.

“Morning,” Dean called.

“Morning,” The man said, “can I help you?”

“Yeah, uh Billy Gibbons, Frank Beard, Dave Evans, and Joan Larkin US Marshalls,” Dean said pulling out his badge.

“What’s this about?” The man asked.

“We’re looking for someone,” Dean replied.

“A young man, early twenties,” Sam explained. “He’d have a thin scar right below his hairline.”

“What’d he do?” The man asked.

“Well, nothing,” Sam said. “We’re actually looking for someone else, but we think this young man can help us.”

“He’s not in any kind or trouble or anything,” Dean stated. “Well, not yet. I think maybe you know who he is, Master Sergeant. My dad was in the Corps. He was a corporal.”

“What company?” The sergeant asked.

“Echo 2-1,” Dean responded.

“So, can you help us?” Sam questioned.

Duane Tanner’s got a scare like that,” The Sergeant said, “But I know him, good kid, keeps his nose clean.”

“I’m sure he does,” Dean soothed. “You know where he lives?”

“With his family, up on Aspen Way,” The sergeant answered.

“Thank you for your time,” I smiled.

We all turned and walked away on our way back to the car Sam bumps into a telephone pole. He glanced at it and then stopped.

“Hey,” Sam called. He pointed to the wood and I saw the word Croatoan engraved on the pole.

“Croatoan?” Dean asked. He seemed slightly confused attempting to process why the word was familiar.

“Yeah,” Sam responded. “Roanoke? Lost colony? Ring a bell? Dean, did you pay any attention in history class.”

“Yeah,” Dean nodded. “The shot heard ‘round the world how bills become laws…”

“That’s not school!” Sam groaned, and I stifled a laugh, “That’s Schoolhouse Rock!”

“Whatever,” Dean shrugged.

“Roanoke was one of the first English colonies in America, the late 1500s,” Sam explained.

“Oh,” Dean groaned. “Now I remember. The only thing left behind was a single word carved in a tree, Croatoan.”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “There’s been theories, Indian raid, diseases. But nobody knows what really happened. They were all just gone, wiped out overnight.”

“You don’t think that’s what’s going on here?” I whispered.

“Whatever I saw in my head, it sure wasn’t good,” Sam sighed. “But what do you think could do that?”

“Well, it seems as though all your visions are tied to the Yellow-eyed demon somehow, so…” Dean replied.

“We should get help,” Sam said. “Bobby? Ellen, maybe?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” Dean agreed.

He took his phone out of his pocket and glanced at the screen, “I don’t have a signal.”

Sam, Aiden, and I then took out our phones. We didn’t have signals either.

“So much for can you hear me now,” I grumbled pocketing my phone once more.

“Payphone,” Aiden pointed out.

We walked over to the payphone and Dean lifted the receiver holding it to his ear before putting it back in the cradle, “Line’s dead.” Dean then lowered his voice, “I’ll tell you one thing if I were gonna massacre a town, that’d be my first step.”

“Great,” I muttered.

Seeing no other choice but to handle this all by ourselves, we got back into the car and drove to Aspen Way. When we got to the Tanners house. Dean signaled that Aiden and I would take the back way while Sam and Dean would go in through the front in case anyone was home. I went one way and Aiden went the other so that we’d run into each other at the back of the house. Seeing nothing of suspicion I quickened my pace until I felt the hair at the back of my neck stand up. I glanced through one of the windows and saw who I assumed was Mrs. Tanner tied to a chair. Great, we were dealing with psychos. I jumped when a hand landed on my shoulder and turned quickly. It was just Aiden who had seen the same thing we had. We heard the front door close as our brothers walk away.

“That was kinda creepy right?” Dean asked. “A little too Stepford?”

“Big time,” Sam agreed.

Sam caught our eye and we gestured for them to come as I watched Mr. Tanner grab a knife. His son rolled up his sleeve hovering behind his mother. Mr. Tanner then took the knife and cut his son’s forearm. The blood from the cut began to drip on Mrs. Tanner’s shoulder.

Sam and Dean had caught the tail end of what was going on and together we pulled our guns out as Dean kicked the door in and all four of us rushed in. Mr. Tanner started screaming and moved to lunge but Dean shot him twice. He crumbled to the floor as the kid began to run, he broke through the window and ran away. I couldn’t fault Sam for not taking the shot after all the person he was supposed to shoot was just a kid.

Aiden and Sam helped Mrs. Tanner to her feet while Dean grabbed a blanket wrapping it around Mr. Tanner’s body as well all got back into the impala. Dean drove us back to the town where we had seen a medical clinic. When we all arrived. Aiden and Sam helped Mrs. Tanner out of the car, while I held back to see if Dean would need any help. He hefted the body onto his shoulders and I closed the trunk, following after him.

“Hey!” Dean called to the doctor. Dr. Lee her nametag said.

“Is that…?” Dr. Lee began to ask.

“Mr. Tanner,” Dean interrupted.

“Was he attacked too?” Dr. Lee questioned.

“Uh, no,” Dean answered. “He did the attacking and then got himself shot.”

I rolled my eyes thinking that Dean could’ve phrased that a little bit differently.

“Shot?” Dr. Lee gasped.

“Yup,” Dean grimaced.

“And who are you?”

“US Marshall,” Dean said. “I’d show you my badge, but, uh…”

“Oh, sorry,” Dr. Lee responded. “Bring him back here.”

Dean followed the doctor back to what I thought was her office as I walked to where Aiden and Sam were hovering. Mrs. Tanner was sitting on an examination table looking really upset. Then again who could blame her? She was explaining what had happened while the doctor and the assistant, Pamela looked on in disbelief.

“Wait, you said Jake helped him?” Dr. Lee said, “your son, Jake?”

“They beat me,” Beverly nodded. “Tied me up.”

“I don’t believe it,” Pamela muttered.

“Pam,” Dr. Lee warned.

Pamela shrugged but kept quiet as the conversation continued, “Beverly, do you have any idea why they would act this way? Any history of chemical dependency?”

Despite myself, I glanced over to Aiden who had squirmed uncomfortably at the words chemical dependency. I patted him on the arm and he squeezed my fingers in return.

“No, of course not,” Beverly sniffed. “I don’t know why. One minute, they were my husband and my son. And the next they had the devil in them.”

Dean had come into the room and stood behind all of us leaned in close and said in a voice only we’d be able to hear, “We need to talk.”

We followed Dean back out to the main room. Dean waited only a second before he turned around and hissed, “These people are whacked out of their gourds.”

“What do you think?” Sam asked, “multiple demons? Mass possession.”

“If it is a possession, there could be more,” Dean muttered. “God knows how many. It could be like a friggin’ Shriner Convention.”

“Great,” Sam growled.

“Course, that’s one way to wipe out a town,” Dean shrugged. “Take it out from the inside.”

“It doesn’t seem right to me,” I said. “We didn’t see any smoke when you ganked Tanner, he just dropped.”

“Well, whatever,” Dean threw a hand up. “I mean, something turned him into a monster. And you know, if Sam had taken out the other one, there’d be one less to worry about.”

“I’m sorry, all right?” Sam snapped. “I hesitated, Dean. It was a damn kid.”

“No, it was an ‘it’,” Dean spat. “Not the best time for a bleeding heart, Sam.”

Sam couldn’t offer a rejoinder because the doctor had come into the waiting room and was staring at all of us.

“How’s the patient?” Sam asked shooting a glare at Dean who rolled his eyes.

“Terrible,” Dr. Lee answered. “What the hell happened out there?”

“We don’t know,” Dean replied.

“Yeah?” Dr. Lee growled. “Well, you just killed my next-door neighbor.”

“We didn’t have a choice,” Dean stated firmly.

“Maybe so,” Dr. Lee frowned. “But we need the county sheriff. I need the coroner.”

“Phones are down,” Sam said.

“I know,” Dr. Lee grumbled. “I’ve tried. Tell me you’ve gotta police radio in the car.”

“We do,” Sam said. “But it’s crapped out just like everything else.”

“I don’t understand what’s happening,” Dr. Lee sighed.

“How far is it to the next town?” Dean asked.

“It’s about forty miles down to Sidewinder,” Dr. Lee said.

“All right, I’m gonna go down there and see if I can find some help,” Dean suggested. “My partners will stick around and keep you guys safe.”

“Safe from what?” Dr. Lee demanded.

“We’ll get back to you on that,” Dean replied before leaving the medical clinic and leaving Sam, Aiden, and I to deal with whatever was going on. I locked eyes with Aiden who shrugged and sat down on the couch in the waiting room. Sam walked off with the doctor and I followed after them. Dr. Lee had taken a blood sample from Mr. Tanner who was lying on the autopsy table.

“Huh,” Dr. Lee murmured.

“What?” Sam asked.

“His lymphocyte percentage was high,” Dr. Lee explained. “His body was fighting off a viral infection.”

“Really?” Sam questioned. “What kind of virus?”

“Can’t say for sure,” Dr. Lee sighed.

“Is there an infection that could have made him act like that?” I queried.

“None that I’ve ever heard of,” Dr. Lee said. “I mean some can cause dementia, but not that kind of violence. And besides, I’ve never heard of one that does this to the blood.”

“What did it do?” Sam prodded.

“There’s this weird residue,” Dr. Lee grimaced. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say it was sulfur.”

Sam and I locked eyes both sharing the same expression…astonishment. There were demons that could cause diseases now?

“Sam?” I whispered.

“What?” Sam replied.

“Mr. Tanner bled directly into Beverley’s wound.”

“Shit.”

Sam and I walked side by side as we went into the examination room that Beverly was sitting on. Dr. Lee came in behind us looking a little confused but mostly worried. She began asking Beverly questions, which didn’t help much except confuse Beverly.

“I don’t understand,” Beverly said. “You’re saying my husband and Jake had a disease?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” Dr. Lee replied. “Now, during the attack, do you remember, did you have any direct contact with their blood?”

“Oh, my god,” Beverly gasped. “You don’t think I’ve got this virus, do you?”

“Beverly, I don’t know what to think,” Dr. Lee sighed. “But with your permission, we’ll take a blood sample.”

Beverly paused for a moment and then smiled at the doctor. She reached her hand out and then suddenly she began screaming. It was obvious that she had the same thing Mr. Tanner had. She jumped off the table and smacked Dr. Lee to the floor. Sam pushed me behind him as he stared at Beverly. She then grabbed Sam knocking him into the cabinet before rounding on me. I saw the glint of silver and moved backward. Before she could stab me, Sam had grabbed an oxygen tank and then proceeded to smack her over the head with it.

“You okay?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” I sighed.

“Dr. Lee?” Sam questioned. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Dr. Lee responded lifting herself off the floor.

With Beverly suddenly unconscious Sam lifted her up and put him into the supply closest and locked the door. He then gave me a look that clearly said that he hoped Dean got back soon. I had to nod in agreement this hunt was nine kinds of crazy. I was pacing the floor of the waiting room, with Aiden’s eyes on my back as I waited for Dean to come back. I huffed and sighed as I heard Sam talking to Pamela who wanted to make sure that her boyfriend was okay.

“Wait!” Sam called trailing after her, “I know you’re upset, all right? But it’s safer if you stay here for now. Help is coming.”

We all heard the rumble of the impala and I sighed in relief, “See there they are.”

“Sammy, open up!” Dean ordered knocking on the door.

Sam walked over and opened the door and Dean walked through it with the Sergeant from earlier following behind him.

“You get to a phone?” Aiden asked.

“Roadblock,” Dean grumbled before turning to the Sergeant, “I’m gonna have a word. The Doc’s inside.”

“Dean, what’s going on?” I groaned once we were all alone.

“I don’t know,” Dean sighed. “I feel like Chuck Heston in _The Omega Man_. Sarge was the only sane person I could find. What are we dealing with, do you know?”

“Yeah, Doc thinks it’s a virus,” Sam answered.

“And what do you think?” Dean asked.

“I think she’s right,” Sam shrugged.

“Really?” Dean gaped.

“Yeah, and I think the infected are trying to infect others with blood-to-blood contact. Oh, but it gets better. The virus leaves traces of sulfur in the blood.”

“A demonic virus?” Dean growled.

“More like demonic germ warfare,” Sam said. “At least that explains why I’m having visions.”

“It’s like a biblical plague,” Dean mumbled.

“You don’t know how right you are,” Aiden said. “I’ve been reading through Dad’s journal. I found something about the Roanoke colony.”

“And?” Dean prodded.

“Dad always had a theory about Croatoan,” Aiden explained. “He thought it was a demon’s name, sometimes known as Dever or sometimes Reshef. A demon of plague and pestilence.”

“Well, that’s terrific,” Dean hissed. “Why here? Why now?”

“I have no idea,” Aiden muttered. “But who knows how far this thing can spread? We’ve gotta get these people out of here, we’ve gotta warn people.”

“They’ve got one!” The sergeant shouted.

We all walked back into the examination room with Dean in the front.

“What do you mean?” Dean asked.

“The wife,” Sam whispered. “She’s infected.”

“We’ve gotta take care of this,” Sergeant growled. “We can’t just leave her in there. My neighbors, they were strong. The longer we wait the stronger she’ll get.”

The sergeant pulled out his gun and Dean mirrored his movement. He stood outside the door of the supply closest guns at the ready.

“You’re going to kill Beverly Tanner?” Pamela demanded.

“Doctor, could there be any treatment?” Sam wondered. “Some kind of cure for this?”

“Can you cure it?” Dean barked.

“For god’s sake, I don’t even know what it is!” Dr. Lee replied.

“I’m telling you,” The sergeant sighed. “It’s a matter of time before she breaks through.”

“Just leave her there!” Pamela shrieked. “You can’t shoot her like an animal!”

“Sam,” Dean ordered quietly ignoring Pamela completely. When all three had weapons at the ready Sam walked over and put his hand on the door at the signal Dean gave he opened it up and Dean and Sarge rushed through.

“Mark,” Beverly whimpered. “What are you doing? Mark, it’s them! They locked me in here, they tried to kill me! They’re infected, not me! Please, Mark! You’ve known me all your life! Please!”

Dean turned and regarded Sam, “You’re sure she’s one of them?”

“Yes,” Sam answered quickly.

Without hesitation, Dean turned back around and shot Beverly. I flinched slightly, and Dr. Lee and Pamela looked horrified but there was nothing else we could do. It was getting darker outside and while we were barricaded into the clinic; who knew how long we’d last in here. There was not much we could do except get ready. We were all sitting around a table when we heard a scream.

Pamela was the one who screamed after accidentally dropping a vial of blood. The more time we spent with these people the more I realized that Pamela was incredibly annoying. I rolled my eyes as she began to have a full-blown tantrum about wanting to leave. One thing was for sure, though. We had to get out of here.

“I’m not sure we have a choice,” Sarge said. “Lots of folks up here are good with rifles. Even with all your hard work, we’re easy targets so unless you have explosives.”

“We could make some,” Sam said eyeing the bottles on the shelf.

Suddenly someone began to pound on the front door, “Hey, let me in! Let me in, please!”

“It’s Duane Tanner!” Sarge responded opening the door for Duane. By the way, Sam flinched, I guess that was the man Dean killed in his vision.

“Oh, thank god,” Duane whispered.

“Are you okay?” Sarge asked.

“That’s the guy that, I uh…” Dean whispered then made a killing gesture.

“Yeah,” Sam grimaced.

“Who else is here?” Duane asked.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Dean exclaimed. “Easy there, chief. Hey, Doc, give Duane a good once over, would you?”

“Pam?” Dr. Lee called as we all went into one of the examination rooms.

“Who are you?” Duane asked Dean as he sat on the table.

“Never mind who I am,” Dean replied. “Doc?”

“Duane, where have you been?” Sarge asked.

“I was on a fishing trip up by Roseland,” Duane said. “I came back this afternoon. I saw Roger McGill being dragged out of his house by people we know. They started cutting him with knives? I ran, I’ve been hiding in the woods ever since. Has anyone seen my mom and dad?”

“Awkward,” Dean hissed, and I shook my head.

“You’re bleeding,” Dr. Lee noted.

“Where’d you get that?” Dean asked.

“I was running, and I must’ve tripped,” Duane shrugged.

“Tie him up, there’s rope in there,” Dean ordered.

“Wait!” Duane stood up.

“Sit down!” Dean commanded raising his gun.

“Sorry, Duane, he’s right,” Sarge said. “We’ve gotta be careful.”

“Careful?” Duane snapped. “About what?”

“Did they bleed on you?” Dean asked.

“No, what the hell? No!” Duane shouted.

“Doc, any way to know for sure? Any tests?” Sam asked as the sergeant began to tie Duane up.

“I’ve studied Beverly’s blood work backward and forwards,” Dr. Lee sighed.

“My mom?” Duane wondered.

“It took three hours for the virus to incubate, sulfur didn’t appear in the blood until then, so…no, there’d be no way of knowing,” Dr. Lee explained. “Not until after Duane turns.”

“Dean, I’ve got to talk to you,” Sam growled. “Now.”

I stayed back as Sam and Dean left the room. I felt people’s eyes on me but ignored them, waiting for my brothers to come back. I heard a sudden shout as the tumbler locked in place. Dean came back into the room with the gun at the ready.

“Oh, no,” Duane whimpered. “You’re not gonna…no! I swear, it’s not in me!”

“Oh, God!” Pamela sobbed. “We’re all gonna die.”

“Maybe he’s telling the truth,” Sarge suggested.

“No, he’s not him, not anymore,” Dean argued.

“Stop it! Ask her! Ask the doctor!” Duane pleaded.

“I can’t tell,” The doctor whispered when Dean’s gaze landed on hers.

“Please, don’t,” Duane cried. “Don’t please, I swear, it’s not in me, it’s not in me! I swear, it’s not in me! Don’t!”

“I’ve got no choice,” Dean sighed. Dean raised his gun and I tried to ignore the sounds of Duane sobbing, wincing as he prepared to be shot. Dean’s finger is twitching on the trigger, but he can’t take the shot. “Damn it!”

Dean stormed out of the room with me following quickly at his heels. He unlocked Sam out of the room who glared at Dean before coming out of the room.

“Time to make explosives,” Dean prodded.

We set up an assembly line making our own explosives. I don’t even remember when we learned how to make them, but it’s come in handy a few times on hunts and it looked like this was going to be no exception. Our work was interrupted when Dr. Lee walked into the room.

“It’s been over four hours,” Dr. Lee said, “Duane’s blood is still clean. I don’t think he’s infected. I’d like to untie him if that’s all right.”

“Sure, yeah,” Sam nodded before looking at Dean once the doctor left he asked, “You know I’m gonna ask you why.”

“Yeah, I know,” Dean grumbled.

“So, why?” Sam asked. “Why didn’t you do it?”

“We need more alcohol,” Dean said.

Sam got up and walked into the dispensary to get more alcohol. Dean and I were busy making more while waiting for Sam when suddenly the door shut and locked. Pamela had walked in there a few moments ago.  Suddenly we heard screaming, Dean grabbed his gun as he and I kicked the door open. Dean shot Pamela several times, before she crumbled to the floor, dead. Dean moved to help Sam to his feet when Sarge stopped him.

“She bled on him,” Sarge noted. “He’s got the virus.”

Dean and I stared at Sam shocked. Dean moved quickly helping Sam up before leading him straight to an examination table. The doctor bandaged his chest as we all looked on.

“Doctor, check his wound again, would you?” Dean asked when she didn’t move he growled, “Doctor!”

“What does she need to examine him for?” Sarge demanded. “You saw what happened!”

“Did her blood actually enter your wound?” Dr. Lee asked.

“Come on, of course, it did!” Sarge yelled.

“We don’t know that for sure!” Dean retorted.

“We can’t take a chance!” Duane shouted.

“Who asked you?” I retorted.

“You know what we have to do,” Sarge calmly.

“Nobody’s shooting my brother,” Dean hissed.

“You were gonna shot me!” Duane yelled.

“You shut your pie hole!” Dean barked. “I still might!”

“Dean, they’re right,” Sam muttered. “I’m infected. Give me the gun and I’ll do it myself.”

“Forget it,” Dean responded.

“Dean, I’m not gonna become one of those things.”

“Sam, we’ve still got some time,” I said.

“Time for what?” Sarge growled. “Look, I understand he’s your brother, and I’m sorry. I am.” He aimed the gun at Sam, “but I gotta take care of this.”

“I’m gonna say this one time,” Dean hissed. “You make a move on him, you’ll be dead before you hit the ground, you understand me? Do I make myself _clear_?!”

“Dean!” Sam scolded.

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Sarge groaned.

“Get the hell outta here, that’s what,” Dean snapped. “Take my care. You’ve got the explosives, there’s an arsenal in there.” He turned to look at Aiden and me, “You two go with them. You’ve got enough firepower to handle anything now.”

“What about you?” Sarge asked.

“We’re not going anywhere,” I stated.

“We’re staying here,” Aiden said.

“Guys, no,” Sam protested. “Go with them. This is your only chance.”

“You’re not gonna get rid of us that easily,” Dean said.

“He’s right, man,” Sarge persuaded. “Come with us!”

“We’re not going anywhere,” I hissed.

“Okay, here’s your funeral,” Sarge shrugged.

“I’m sorry,” Dr. Lee said. “Thanks for everything, Marshalls.”

“Oh, actually, we’re really not Marshalls,” Dean shrugged before ushering them out of the door. He locked it behind her. “I wish we had a deck of cards or a foosball table or something.”

“Guys, don’t do this,” Sam pleaded. “Save yourselves. Just get the hell out of here.”

“No way,” Dean retorted.

“Give me my gun and leave,” Sam whispered his vice beginning to break.

“For the last time, Sam, no,” Dean stated firmly. Sam slammed his hand down hard on the table, tears streaming down his face.

“This is the dumbest thing you’ve ever done,” Sam fumed.

“I don’t know about that,” Dean said.

Sam and Dean continued to talk and argue but I couldn’t hear a word. Everything was messed up and I figured it couldn’t get any worse. Just as I was resigning myself to die with my brother’s someone began knocking on the door. Dean walked over and opened it slowly.

“You better come see this,” Dr. Lee said.

We all got up and walked out of the clinic to see the entire town deserted.

“There’s no one,” Dr. Lee whispered. “Not anywhere. They’ve all just vanished.”

“What the fuck,” I groaned.

We all walked back into the clinic and a few hours later the doctor was looking at Sam’s blood under the microscope.

“It’s been five hours and your blood's still clean,” Dr. Lee said. “I don’t understand it, but I think you dodged a bullet.”

“But I was exposed,” Sam whispered. “How can I not be infected?”

“You’re just not,” Dr. Lee shrugged. “I mean when you compare it with the Tanner samples. What the hell?”

“What?” I asked.

“Their blood,” Dr. Lee gaped. “There’s no trace of the virus. No sulfur, or anything.”

Seeing no other reason to stay we began to load back up the impala. After clearing it one more time that Sam was in fact all right the doctor went back inside. I noticed that Dean was staring at Sam.

“Hey, man, don’t look at me,” Sam shrugged. “I have no clue.”

“I swear, I’m gonna lose sleep over this one,” Dean complained. “I mean, why here? Why now? Where the hell did everybody go? It’s not like they freaking melted.”

“Why was I immune?” Sam wondered.

“Yeah, you know what, that’s a good question. You know, I’m already starting to feel like this is the one that got away.”

“Let’s just get the hell out of here,” I suggested.

We all nodded and climbed into the impala. Dean floored it out of River Grove and I knew instantly that this was one town that we were going to avoid for the rest of our lives. How the hell did an entire town of people just vanish? Maybe a demon really was behind all of this but that didn’t bring any comfort. I noticed that Dean had pulled over to the side of the road where there were a fence and a lake. Dean, Sam, and Aiden got out of the car taking the six-pack of beer with them.

“So…last night. You wanna tell me what the hell you were talking about?” Sam asked Dean and I looked at him suddenly intrigued what had I missed when I had zoned out?

“What do you mean?” Dean asked

“What do I mean?” Sam gaped, “I mean, you said you were tired of the job. And that it wasn’t just because of Dad.”

“Forget it,” Dean replied.

“No, I can’t,” Sam protested. “No way.”

“Come on, man, I thought we were all gonna die. You can’t hold that over me,” Dean grumbled.

“No, no, no,” Sam snapped, “you can’t pull that crap with me, man. You’re talking.”

“And what if I don’t?” Dean challenged.

“Then I guess I’ll just have to keep asking until you do,” Sam shrugged.

Dean paused for a long beat before saying, “I don’t know, man. I just think maybe we oughta…go to the Grand Canyon.”

“What?” Aiden asked.

“Yeah, you know, all this driving back and forth, cross-country. You know I’ve never been to the Grand Canyon? Or we could go to T.J. or Hollywood, see if we can bang Lindsay Lohan,” Dean suggested.

“No, thank you,” I grimaced.

“You’re not making any sense,” Sam said.

“I’m saying we should take a break from all this,” Dean stated, “why do we gotta get stuck with all the responsibility, you know? Why can’t we live life a little bit?”

“Why are you saying all this?” Sam wondered as Dean took a sip of his beer and began to walk away from us we followed after him Sam continuing to speak, "no, no, no. Dean, you’re my brother, all right? So, whatever weight you’re carrying…let me help a little bit.”

“I can’t,” Dean groaned, “I promised.”

“Who?” I asked.

“Dad,” Dean said.

“What are you talking about?” Sam asked.

“Right before Dad died…he told me something,” Dean explained before looking at both Sam and me, “he told me something about both of you.”

“What?” I growled the same time as Sam said, “Dean, what did he tell you?”


	17. Who am I fooling?

I didn’t like the way that Dean wasn’t looking at us and how tense he looked. His fists were clenched, and his eyes were flashing as if he were fighting with himself. Dad had made him promise and that always meant the world to Dean and now he was going to break it.

“Dean?” I whispered.

“He said that he,” Dean swallowed looking at Sam and me, “That he wanted me to watch out for you. Take care of all of you.”

“He told you that a million times,” Sam whispered.

“This time it was different,” Dean said. “He told me to watch out for you guys, but he said that I had to…save you and Hails.”

“Save us from what?” I asked.

“He just said that I had to save you,” Dean sighed. “That nothing else mattered. And if I couldn’t, I’d…”

“You’d what, Dean?” Sam demanded.

“I’d have to kill you. The both of you,” Dean answered his voice unsure. Sam and I exchanged glances before looking back at Dean confused, “He said that I might have to kill you, Sammy. And you too, Hails.”

“Kill me?” Sam hissed his eyes welling up with tears as I still processed what Dean had said. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I don’t know,” Dean groaned.

“I mean, he must’ve had some kind of reason for saying it, right?” Sam snapped. “Did he know the demon’s plans for us? Are we supposed to go dark-side or something?! What else did he say, Dean.”

“Sam,” I whispered.

“Shut up, Hailey!” Sam shouted. The agitation rolled off him in waves as he rounded on Dean, taking a step closer. “What else did he say, Dean?”

“Nothing,” Dean replied. “That’s it, I swear.”

“How could you not have told us this?!” Sam raged pulling me closer to him.

I didn't shrug out of Sam's hold, still trying to process what Dean had said. 

“Because he was dead, and he begged me not to,” Dean stated firmly.

“Who cares?” Sam growled. “Take some responsibility for yourself, Dean!”

“You shouldn’t have kept this from us,” I whispered.

What I said was overlooked as Dean and Sam faced off. I yanked myself out of Sam’s bruising grip and moving over to Aiden who threw an arm over my shoulder. I could tell that he couldn’t believe what was happening either. Hell, I didn’t know how to feel but it wasn’t the anger that Sam obviously was. I had to get out of here that I realized and quickly so. The urge to go to ground was slowly filling every inch of my body.

“You think I wanted this?” Dean retorted fiercely, “Huh? I wish to God he’d never opened his mouth! Then I wouldn’t have to walk around with this screaming in my head all day!”

“We’ve gotta figure out what’s going on then, what the hell all this means,” Sam sighed after a pause. This voice slightly more subdued then it had been previously.

“We do?” Dean responded. “I’ve been thinking about this, I think we should just lay low, you know? At least for a while, it’d be safer. That way, I can make sure…

Sam had backed down, but I heard something else in Dean’s voice. The way he reacted whenever I used my abilities or Sam mentioned his. The slight wince whenever it happened. The way he referred to it as psychic crap and ESP shit. It wasn’t fair, he didn’t want Dad telling him that he might have killed us, but it wasn’t like we went to Azazel saying that we wanted to be ‘chosen’ either.

“That what?” I snapped. “That Sam and I don’t turn evil? That we don’t turn into some sort of killers.”

“I never said that,” Dean said.

“Jeez, if you’re not careful, you will have to waste us one day, Dean,” I snarled.

“I never said that!” Dean shouted. “Damn it, you guys, this whole thing is spinning out of control! Sam, you’re immune to some weirdo demon virus, and I don’t even know what the hell anymore. You both are pissed at me, and I get it. That’s fine, I deserve it. But we lay low until we figure out our next move, okay?”

Little did Dean know, I was already figuring out my next move and it in no way involved us staying together. Hell, if I knew Sam half as well as I thought I did, he’d be considering doing the same thing.

“Forget it,” Sam shook his head.

“Sam, please, man,” Dean pleaded grabbing Sam’s shoulder, “Hey, please, just give me some time. Give me some time to think, okay, I’m begging you here, please. Please.”

When Sam nodded, Dean turned to me and I nodded crossing my arms across my chest. I sighed and waited for whatever came next. All I knew was that I wanted to get out of Oregon fast. Sam, Aiden, and Dean seemed to be on the same wavelength because we all walked back to the impala and drove until we saw the entering Idaho sign. We stopped at the first motel off the interstate after grabbing something to eat.

Ugh, the Velvet Inn Motel? Could that get any more disgusting? I rolled my eyes as Dean gave Aiden a key and then Sam a key. It looked as if we were going to go back to the old system and that was fine with me. Aiden was such a sound sleeper that I could watch TV on full volume and he’d have no problem sleeping. I didn’t know if that would change because of the coke but I pretended to go to sleep just like it was any other day. When I heard the telltale snores coming from Aiden’s bed I slowly got out of bed and slipped back into my jeans and shoes before grabbing my clothing duffel bag. I then picked up the weapons and consolidate it in one duffel bag.

I crept quietly across the room and opened the door only enough for me to squeeze through before closing it quietly and carefully. I walked around the building to the parking lot. I glanced at the impala not even considering jacking it because Dean was going to be pissed enough that I left in the first place. It would be downright suicidal to steal the impala. I saw a dark figure breaking into the car next to the impala. I snuck up behind the figure and poked him in the shoulder. The person jumped and spun around.

“Hi Sammy,” I grinned.

“Hailey, go back inside,” Sam ordered.

“Seriously?” I laughed. “Yeah, I’ll do that but I’m gonna say goodnight to Dean first ask him where you’re going…”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Sam glared.

I rose an eyebrow at him. I hadn’t been bluffing.

“Look, Sam, I’m not going to be your little hanger-on,” I explained. “Bring me to the roadhouse and we can go our separate ways. Deal?”

“Get in the car,” Sam huffed.

“Good choice,” I smirked.

**Aiden’s Point of View**

Something was wrong. I knew that instantly even before my eyes opened. I didn’t get to stay in bed too long because a sudden flurry of knocks nearly slammed the door off its hinges. I got up and opened the door surprised to see Dean looking completely frantic.

“Sam’s gone,” Dean growled.

I began to turn around saying, “I’ll wake up…” Hailey’s bed was empty. “Hailey.” I finished softly. I shot a small glance back at Dean who looked even angrier than he had when he came in.

“They’re probably together,” Dean said.

“We wouldn’t know,” I said. “She left her phone here.”

“What a coincidence,” Dean hissed. “So, did Sammy. Move your ass we’re leaving. Now.”

Dean stormed back to his room to grab his duffel bag. I picked up my two along with the one that Hailey had seemingly ditched. I should’ve realized that Hailey was gonna book, I mean that’s what she did. But, I thought after the last time she really was done with the whole running thing. Sam was a runner too it was something that they both shared. But you would think after everything that had happened they’d just stay with us and let us work it out together.

“Ads!” Dean shouted. _“Move!”_

Mostly though Sam and Hailey owed me so bad because now I was stuck with a very angry Dean. And who knows where they were and if they’d stick together. All I wanted to know was why would they leave? It was dangerous not for nothing the demon was both gunning for them, not us.

**Sam’s Point of View**

The ride to the roadhouse was silent, each of us was lost in our own thoughts. By the time I had finally gotten to the roadhouse, Hails was getting antsy. We both got out of the car, knowing that Ellen would ditch it for us. I looked at Hailey who wasn’t making any moves to go inside.

“Can you get Jo to come out here?” Hailey asked.

“Yeah,” I nodded. “Hay, be careful.”

“You too, Sammy,” Hailey responded.

I watched as my sister walked behind the roadhouse heading out to the shed in the back. I ambled into the Roadhouse and made a beeline to Ellen after nodding to Jo. She looked confused and I pointed out the door. She quickly walked outside, and I knew she had gotten it.

“Sam,” Ellen greeted looking surprisingly stern.

“Hey, Ellen,” I grinned. “You don’t seem that surprised to see me.”

“Dean’s been calling, worried sick, looking for you,” Ellen snapped. “And Hailey.”

“Yeah,” I rubbed the back of my neck, “I figured as much.”

“Sam, where’s your sister?” Ellen asked.

“I don’t know,” I responded quickly.

“What’s going on between you and your brother?” Ellen questioned.

I shrugged and looked at the ground after a painful beat passed I looked up, “Is Ash here?”

“Yeah, baby,” Ellen sighed. “I’ll get Ash.”

“Thank you, Ellen,” I whispered.

After a few moments, Ash came out of the backroom holding his computer under his arm. We sat side by side on the bar.

“What am I looking for, Sam?” Ash asked.

“Other people,” I said. “Other psychics, like me, as many as possible, and I need a nationwide search.”

“So, Hailey was telling Jo the truth,” Ellen stated.

“Yeah,” I grimaced. “I figured that Hailey would tell you.”

“She wouldn’t have if Trevor hadn’t convinced her that it was for the best,” Ellen said. “She also said that there wasn’t a way to track them down. Not all of them had nursery fires as you did.”

“I didn’t have a fire in my nursery,” I mumbled. “That was Hailey. But some had too.”

“I’ll see what I can find,” Ash said.

“Thank you, so much,” I whispered.

Ash clapped me on the back as Ellen brought me a bottle of water. She stayed with me until Ash came back.

“When did you find out?” I asked.

“She told me and Ash a few days before you guys came from that circus of a hunt,” Ellen said.

As it would turn out I was right there were some people who had nursery fires in ’83. There were three names that came up in Ash’s search they were, Max Miller, Andrew Gallagher, and Scott Carey, all of whom were dead.

“I know where Scott Carey is,” Ash said sensing my look of disappointment, “The others have no family members, as in the entire family is dead. But Scott has a father.”

“Where?” I asked.

“Lafayette, Indiana,” Ash said.

“Thanks, Ash,” I sighed. I got to my feet moving toward the door, but Ellen’s voice stopped me.

“Where are you going?” Ellen asked.

“Indiana,” I replied.

“Sam?” Ellen sighed. “I’ve gotta call, Dean. I’ve gotta let him know where you are.”

“Ellen, I’m trying to find answers about who I am,” I explained. “My brother means well, but he can’t protect me from that. Please.”

Ellen sighed but slowly nodded. I took that as my cue nodding to Ash and smiling a small smile at Ellen. I wondered if we were all special children who three had burnt out so quickly. There were others, of course, there had to be.

**Hailey’s Point of View**

I heard the crunch of gravel behind me and knew that it was Jo. She moved quickly and then we were side by side.

“Hey, Hails,” Jo said.

“Hey,” I smiled.

“Dean hasn’t stopped calling in over two hours,” Jo said.

“Yeah,” I grimaced.

“Is this about all that psychic stuff?” Jo questioned.

“Apparently my Dad told Dean that he might have to kill Sam and I,” I said.

“You’re kidding,” Jo gaped.

“Would I be out here without my brothers if I wasn’t?” I responded. “My bike still here?”

“You mean the motorcycle?” Jo said. “Of course, no one knows it’s here.”

“Thanks, Jo,” I grinned.

“Just be careful, Hails,” Jo said. “I’d rather not have to explain to Dean how we let both of you come in here and leave only to come back injured.”

“Don’t worry,” I said.

I hugged Jo goodbye and then she walked back towards the roadhouse. I dropped my duffel back on the ground and walked into the shed. I stood on top of a few boxes and grabbed the box that was on top of the shelving unit. I pulled out a pair of black leather pants and put them on. They laced in the front and I tied them tightly. I then shrugged on my leather jacket that had two vertical pockets on either side. I put the jacket over a white eyelet dress that I rolled into a top. I snatched my helmet and put it over my head as I wheeled the Ducati Streetfighter bike out of the shed and grinned at it. It was nearly four thousand dollars and had taken nearly four years to save up. Jo had been willingly let me store it here.

The thing was not only a Ducati, but it was custom painted a nice midnight blue color. This thing was my baby just like the impala was Dean’s. I put my arms through my duffel bag’s loop and straddled the bike.

I had made a pact with myself years ago that the only time that I would be in a car was with a family member present especially if I was going to be traveling a while. It just wouldn’t be right if Dean wasn’t driving or Dad. I’d be in the car with friends or cousins if we were just going into town or something but when I was hunting, I was either with my brothers or I was going to be riding this bike. And it wasn’t so much with all my brothers, I mean I loved Sam and Aiden, really, I did. But when they left I realized that the only person who would always be a constant in my life was Dean and if Dean wasn’t driving or in the car than it just didn’t feel right.

I hadn’t driven this bike since I got it four years ago. But I had ridden some bikes before and I loved the feel of the engine and it also shaved hours off travel times because I could weave in between cars. I knew exactly where I was going. Dean would expect me to go to Tasha because that’s where I always went so I decided it was time for a change of pace and decided to go to Ipswich, Massachusetts.

It was going to take a while to get there but I knew that I could make it in a day and a half at least. I just had to keep moving and floor it whenever I could, and I did. I realized that it was a good idea to leave my phone because Dean and Aiden would be calling the thing off the hook not to mention they could trace it so that I would have no chance to be by myself and figure some things out. After all it isn’t every day when you find out that your oldest brother, your hero might have to kill you.

By the time I got to Ipswich, it was a day and a half later at nearly one in the afternoon. It was a Friday, but I knew everyone would still be in class. I was currently in the parking lot parking next to my cousin’s friend’s motorcycle. I got off the bike walking towards the school. I snuck inside and wandered the hallway until the bell rang. I don’t remember the last time I had visited. The bell rang overheard and leaned against a locker waiting until I saw someone familiar. And just when I thought that they had changed the Upperclassmen classrooms, I saw a familiar head a platinum blonde hair. It took him a second to spot me but when he did, his jaw dropped.

“Hails?” Reid Garwin gaped.

“Hey, Reid,” I smirked.

We were walking towards each other until Reid grabbed me into his arms pulling me off my feet. When he set me back down he looked slightly more serious.

“Come on,” Reid beckoned, “I just had my last class, we can head back to the dorms.”

“All right,” I smiled.

He grabbed my duffel bag from where I had dumped it on the floor and threw an arm over my shoulder. Reid and I didn’t see each other half as much as we use to. There had been a couple of times where both Dean and Dad had debated sending me here to keep me out of harm’s way, but it was quickly decided that I was better off with them. Of course, judging by the state of Reid’s room he hadn’t changed at all. There was clothing all over Reid’s side of the room, making his roommate’s side look incredibly neat.

“Still rooming with Tyler?” I asked.

“Yup,” Reid answered plopping down on his bed. “Baby boy still has another class, but he’ll be coming back soon.”

“Oh, okay,” I replied sitting down on his desk chair.

“What’s with the outfit?” Reid asked.

“What do you mean?” I questioned.

“Last time I checked Dean didn’t let his sister wear anything that tight or made of leather,” Reid scoffed. “Which leads me to assume that he’s not here, and the brings up my next question: Where are your brothers and how’d you get here?”

“My brothers are on a hunt nearby,” I said effortlessly. “And they dropped me off.”

“Without saying ‘hello’?” Reid scoffed.

“They didn’t know if you’d be in class,” I shrugged.

“Didn’t stop you,” Reid mentioned.

“I haven’t really been hunting first string,” I said.

“I see,” Reid nodded.

“Enjoying your senior year?” I questioned.

“Yeah,” Reid nodded. “And it’s almost over too. Two more months.”

Suddenly the door flew open with Tyler talking before he was even fully in the door, “Dude, there’s apparently this motorcycle chick that just showed up in school dressed nearly entirely in leather. I overheard Aaron telling Brody that she was…” He trailed off when he caught sight of me blushing bright red.

Tyler Simms had dark, spiky brown hair and dark blue eyes. He was nearly the same height as Reid but was the youngest in birth order, which was how he got the nickname of Baby boy. Tyler had been Reid’s best friend for as long as I could remember. Sure, the four boys were close, but it was always Reid and Tyler and Pogue and Caleb. Caleb and Pogue were the older two in the Covenant and were both around six foot one or so. Caleb had short brown hair and bright hazel eyes while Pogue’s hair was light brown and long and he too had brown eyes.

“Hey, Tyler,” I smiled.

“I should’ve known,” Tyler grinned. “If anyone knows how to make an entrance it would be you.”

I smiled and shook my head as I got up and hugged Tyler. After we hugged he moved fully into the room, shutting the door and dumping his backpack by his desk. He too sat on his bed as he looked at me.

“So, what have you been up to?” Tyler asked.

“It’s just been a hellish couple of months,” I sighed.

“I’ve heard,” Tyler said. “I’m sorry.”

“S’okay,” I grinned. “I mean it’s getting easier every day.”

Tyler nodded, I mean he couldn’t really say anything. Sure we had some similar experiences but it we also had different lives. They came from money and I, well, didn’t. But, Reid never failed to spread the wealth whenever he could at least if he considered you family. I don’t know how long we sat together just talking until Reid glanced at the time.

“You up for Nicky’s, baby girl?” Reid asked me.

“Of course,” I smirked.

“Let’s go,” Reid said.

I stood up and shrugged off my leather jacket. I then unrolled my dress and slipped out of my leather pants and boots. I put on some simple high heels and smiled at Reid and Tyler who were looking bemused. They had both changed out of the Spenser uniforms and were just waiting for me.

“Come prepared, Hails?” Reid asked.

“More like up for anything,” I smirked.

Reid rolled his eyes as I waved my hand through my hair making it so that it fell around my shoulders. I followed Reid and Tyler out of the door and straight to a black hummer. I glanced over and saw that my motorcycle was still in pristine condition. I climbed into the back of the hummer. Nicky’s was a pub that was teenager friendly. It was the place to be in Ipswich and the Sons of Ipswich frequently hung out there. At least that’s what they were called because they descended from the founders of the Ipswich colonies. The families had been inseparable for years and they were great guys.

I could feel the envious eyes on me as I entered the room with Reid and Tyler. I shook my head and rolled my eyes as girls just glared at me like I was stealing what they were entitled to. I spotted Pogue and Caleb by the foosball tables and walked over to them. Pogue saw me first and broke out into a huge grin closing the distance and tossing me up into the air before hugging me tightly.

“Hey, Pogo,” I smiled.

“Hailey,” Pogue laughed before whispering in my ear, “is the motorcycle that was next to mine yours?”

“Yup,” I said. “Took me four years to save up for it.”

“You’ve got a good taste, Hails,” Pogue praised.

“Hailey Winchester, is that you?” A deep voice asked.

“Caleb Danvers,” I smirked.

Caleb looked me up and down before opening his arms. I walked into them and he hugged me closely. I followed them back to the foosball table and just took in the ambiance that was around me. It felt weird being here all alone, but I knew that it was for the best. I needed a break from everything and everyone. It just figured that dean and Aiden both would be making their ranks through anyone I could have run to because suddenly Reid pulled out his phone and after a few seconds hung up the phone before he looked for me. When he found me furious blue eyes pinned me where I stood.

“Shit,” I mumbled.

It only took a second for Reid to close the distance between us. He grabbed my arm harshly and pulled me bodily out of Nicky’s ignoring both Caleb and Pogue’s protests. Reid didn’t stop in his movements until we were in the parking lot.

“Got anything you want to tell me, Hailey?” Reid growled.

“Who called?” I sighed.

“Dean,” Reid answered. “Who is worried sick, in case you care.”

“You have no idea what is going on,” I snapped. “And you don’t understand…”

“I don’t understand why you lied to me,” Reid interrupted, “I don’t know why you left Dean and Aiden in Idaho without any word that you were leaving.”

“He wanted time to think he has it,” I threw my hands into the air. “I needed time too.”

“You left, Hails,” Reid snapped. “And you lied to me. Dean’s in Indiana tracking Sammy down first.”

“You told him where I was,” I whispered.

“Yeah, I did,” Reid said. “You can’t just run. He told me what happened and everything.”

“He said he might have to kill me!” I shouted. “And he’s the one who needs to fucking think? He hates anything remotely supernatural, Reid and that includes you and me!”

“Hailey,” Reid sighed. “First of all I’m a witch, which is nothing I can control, and you can’t control what you are either. He doesn’t blame you.”

“You should see the way he looks at me whenever I push something without touching it,” I whispered.

“He doesn’t know how to react,” Reid defended.

“No, it disgusts him,” I snarled.

“Then you two will have a lot more to work out than all of this,” Reid gestured around in a circle. “Even though you might wanna hold that conversation because he’s _pissed_.”

“Terrific,” I sniped. “He might have to kill me but he’s the one that’s pissed!”

“Hails, he tells you to lay low and both you and Sam run off the first chance ya get?” Reid questions.

“Don’t,” I warned. “Just don’t.”

“Dean said that they’d be a few days in Indiana and that I’m not to let you out of my sight,” Reid said.

“Don’t bother,” I retorted. “I’m gone.”

“Like hell you are, Hails,” Reid snapped. “There’s some big bad demon after you and you think I’m just going to let you leave by yourself?”

“I’m fine,” I said.

“Really?” Reid demanded.

“What do you want from me, Reid?” I groaned. “I just want to be left alone, have some space to think for a bit but apparently that’s too much to ask.”

“You didn’t even ask,” Reid retorted.

“Because of course, Dean would say yes!” I growled.

“Just because someone will most likely say no doesn’t mean you can’t ask,” Reid said.

“Whatever,” I grumbled. “You going to take me back to the dorms? I wanna crash.”

“When was the last time you got any sleep,” Reid asked taking hold of my arm again.

“A day ago?” I answered.

Reid sighed and shook his head before I noticed that his eyes were going black. I tried to stop him because he had already come into his full power and it was stupid to use magic just get us back, but he didn’t listen to me and the next time I opened my eyes I was in Tyler and Reid’s dorm room.

“You’re a fucking hypocrite,” I snapped.

“Quit your bitching and get to sleep,” Reid retorted. “Don’t even think about bailing, Hails.”

“And if I did?” I challenged.

“Then I really wouldn’t want to be you when Dean finally catches up,” Reid shrugged. “By the way, he wants to talk to you.”

“No thank you,” I replied.

“Wasn’t negotiable,” Reid said. He dialed a number and then handed it to me.

“Winchester,” Dean answered sharply. I could hear the impala’s engine and knew that he was probably still on his way to Indiana. Why Sam went there was beyond me, but it didn’t really matter.

“Hi, Dean,” I replied.

“ _Hailey_ ,” Dean growled.

I flinched and gulped at the tone Dean had used. I could see his look even without him being here. It was one of barely suppressed fury the glint of his emerald eyes had to be completely frigid to match his tone. It was also the tone of voice that Dean got whenever one of us had found a whole new level of trouble. Dean was going to murder me.

“You have to understand,” I pleaded.

“Understand?” Dean repeated before barking. “Understand? Hailey, I told you both that we all needed to lay low until we figure this out and you both bail that very night?”

“There’s nothing to figure out, Dean,” I snapped before realizing that this probably wasn’t the best time to get an attitude, “Sam and I are just psychic. You’re not going to have to waste us but right now we both need our space and you should respect that.”

“Respect?” Dean scoffed. “You really wanna go there, Hailey Jade? Why should I show you guys any respect if you don’t even have the decency to tell me that you need your space? Instead, you both run the moment my back is turned? It’s the same shit over and over and I swear to god, this will be the last time you even dream of running. Do you understand me?”

Fuck, just fuck. Like this conversation couldn’t get any worse. What part of me even thought that this would all be okay? That Dean would understand that we needed our space. That this whole thing was one giant clusterfuck that I needed to make sense out of before my goddamn head exploded.

“I said,” Dean growled his voice getting even more dangerous that part of me thought that he could just reach through the phone and throttle me. It took a talented person to intimidate me via phone. Then again, Dean could be the epitome of intimidation when he was encouraged, “Do. You. Understand. Me? And just to clear things up here, Hailey, there’s only one acceptable answer here.”

“Yes, sir,” I mumbled.

“You better not give Reid any trouble,” Dean ordered sternly, “because if I hear of you giving him an ounce of trouble…”

“I won’t,” I responded.

“And you better not even think of leaving Ipswich,” Dean spat. “If you even step foot off of Spenser’s grounds, what happened in Salvation is gonna look like a cakewalk.”

“I’m eighteen years old,” I protested.

“You’re right, Hailey Jade,” Dean snarled. “You’re eighteen years old so maybe you can think about every year that should’ve learned that running is _never_ an acceptable way to deal with your problems. And you know I thought we had finally stopped with this crap. I didn’t even do anything the last time you decided to run but you best believe that this will never happen again.”

“Yes, sir,” I whispered.

“I’ll see you in a few days,” Dean said sounding a lot calmer.

“I love you, Dean,” I replied.

“You too, Hails,” Dean huffed.

Well, one thing was certain. I was completely screwed.

 


	18. Natural Disaster

I was screwed, and I knew that for certain. There was no way that I could swing this into something that Dean wouldn’t get irritated with. I sighed as I slid into Reid’s bed because he wouldn’t let me sleep on the floor. Instead, Reid decided to set up an airbed right in front of the door, making sure that I wouldn’t be able to leave unless I was feeling like plummeting five stories to the ground.  I wondered, passingly, if I could use my abilities to break my fall. It was definitely something to look into, however, my luck was pressed so it was here I would stay.

When Tyler’s alarm clock rang the next morning, Reid and I groaned in stereo. I was not a morning person, and being out of school had afforded me the luxury of getting used to sleeping in. Then again most of the things we hunted were nocturnal anyway, so it was their schedule we had to be on, not a normal 9-5 one. When the alarm started going again, I stretched wincing as my body cracked like a glowstick.

“What are you waiting for?” Reid asked me.

“What do you mean?” I replied, sitting up.

“I can’t miss class so you’re coming with,” Reid said.

“Cute, Reid,” I scoffed. “No way.”

“I can’t miss class,” Reid repeated. “You’re coming with.”

“I don’t have a uniform, genius,” I rolled my eyes.

“Pogue’s girlfriend dropped this by for you a few minutes ago,” Reid said throwing me a bundle of clothing. “You guys are nearly the same size.”

“What a delightful coincidence,” I sneered.

I got out of bed and walked into their little bathroom area. It only had a sink and a mirror. I closed the door and slipped into the plaid green skirt, white oxford shirt, sweater vest, and blazer. I put on the white knee-high socks. When I came out of the bathroom both boys were once again waiting for me.

“How does this work?” I asked. “I don’t have any books.”

“You’re my cousin who is looking to transfer schools,” Reid responded. “Come on, before we’re late for the first period.”

“Wouldn’t want that,” I rolled my eyes.

I followed after Reid and Tyler straight into the academic buildings. They hadn’t changed in the years, I had missed. I walked forward following them right into a classroom where Caleb and Pogue were also in the class. Reid and Tyler went to the seats directly behind them and I sat in between them.

“What class is this?” I whispered.

“English lit,” Tyler replied as Caleb and Pogue nodded.

There was a girl hanging out off of Pogue’s arm. She was a pretty girl with dark brown eyes and hair. She had an easy bright smile.

“Hi, I’m Kate,” The girl introduced. “Reid was right we are the same size.”

“Yes, he was,” I smiled. “I’m Hailey.”

“Are you staying long?” Kate asked.

“Nope,” I shook my head. “Just visiting.”

“All right, let’s get started!” A severe looking woman snapped storming into the classroom and closing the door behind her. She tossed her briefcase on her desk as she looked around.

“Professor Watson,” Reid filled in quietly. “She’s one of the toughest professors here.”

I nodded watching as a woman who couldn’t be more than five feet tall but her presence had everyone in the room quiet and listening to her as compared to a few moments ago where the noise alone could be heard all the way down the hall.

“Okay, everyone hand in your homework,” Watson ordered.

Her eyes swept the room as students moved handing papers to the student sitting in front of them. Watson walked up and down the front row taking the papers. She seemed to count them quickly before asking, “where’s your homework, Garwin?”

“I don’t have it,” Reid shrugged. “I could find anyone to copy it from.”

A few people began to laugh as Tyler shook his head, Pogue sighed, and Caleb glared back at Reid.

“How unfortunate,” Watson stated. “Detention. One week after school my office.”

“Yes ma’am,” Reid nodded before telling me, “We’ve got an understanding.”

“I can see that,” I laughed.

Watson turned back and began to talk about the next assignment concerning _The Age of Innocence_. I sighed and slumped in my seat realizing and quickly so why I had dropped out of school in the first place. It was just so boring and I couldn’t focus on what Watson was saying.

“Hails, this class is over,” Reid whispered.

“Can I go to the library?” I asked.

“I’m not supposed to let you out of my sight,” Reid frowned.

“Reid, please?” I pleaded. “I just need some time alone to think. I’m not going to go anywhere. I’m not suicidal.”

“All right,” Reid sighed. “Meet me in the cafeteria for lunch at 11:30, got it?”

“Yeah,” I nodded.

I walked into the library and straight back to one of the tables. It had a thin layer of dust, so I knew that people hadn’t been this far back in a while. I sat down and just stared off into space. I had placed a book in front of me so that it would look like I would be working. I rested my chin in my hands and sighed.

Nothing was going the way it was supposed to do. Sure, I need that Dean would be beyond pissed. I hadn’t left a note and I ditched my phone so that they couldn’t trace it that would not go over well. I had broken two huge rules in the Winchester handbook, maybe three. I had ditched my phone and that’s one rule broken. I had lied, that was a major rule I broke. And I had broken a near direct order to lay low, knowing full well that Dean meant laying low together. And, going off of the last rule broken, Dean could and most likely would argue that by running off I had put myself in danger because I didn’t have someone watching my back.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

My head snapped up and my eyes widened as I quickly looked around the library. If one was here more was sure to follow, and they’d be sure to corner me.

“Relax, Hay, it’s only me,” Aiden soothed. Somehow that didn’t make me feel any better.

“Dean, let you come up here by yourself?” I asked.

“He wanted to track down Sam by himself,” Aiden explained. “He figured that someone else should watch you.”

“Because having Reid and his friends monitoring my every move isn’t enough?” I snapped.

“Word of advice, I’d drop the attitude before Dean gets here,” Aiden replied.

“Whatever,” I retorted, making a move to get up.

“Sit down,” Aiden ordered.

I dropped down onto my seat and glared at Aiden who returned my gaze unfazed. It hadn’t been three minutes and already I was being ordered around.

“What’s on your mind, Hay,” Aiden questioned again.

“I don’t wanna talk about it, Aiden,” I muttered.

“Once again that won’t work when Dean gets here,” Aiden said.

“Ads,” I groaned.

“You don’t understand right now,” Aiden snapped. His face morphing from the cool mask that he had been wearing when he first walked into the library to one of fury. “Dean _begged_ you guys to stay put and then you wait until the second that both of us fall asleep and you run without even letting us know that you are okay.”

I opened my mouth to retort or to state that Sam had done the exact same thing when Aiden cut me off with a vicious look that had me recoiling in my seat. I had seen that look thrown at a bully or two but never had it been directed at myself.

“You leave without your cell phone,” Aiden growled. “You leave half of your weapons behind. There’s no note telling us where you could possibly be going. We had no idea where the _fuck_ you were, Hailey, not until Dean called the right person. Reid had no idea that you ran off. He thought we were working a job nearby or at least that’s what you told him. What if Dean hadn’t thought to call Reid? Or run through your entire fucking contact list so that everyone was searching for your ass? You could’ve been hurt or killed or both and we wouldn’t have known!”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered softly.

“Sorry?” Aiden barked. “Oh, you’re _sorry_. That’s nice, Hailey because ‘sorry’ definitely makes up for the three days we spent looking for your ass. Three whole days of not knowing if you were okay or alive, do you have any idea what that was like? Dean was going out of his mind with worry and I wasn’t that far behind him. I mean, fuck, Hailey the last time you disappeared you ended up in a coma for a month.”

“I didn’t do this to hurt you,” I retorted. “It isn’t about you guys at all. Dad said Dean may have to kill me. Not you. Me. How the fuck am I supposed to handle that?”

“You did this without thinking and went off half-cocked,” Aiden retorted. “You didn’t think about the fact that the demon could’ve have snatched you because you made yourself a goddamn perfect target. You didn’t think about how Dean or I would feel about this act of selfishness. What part in all of this were you even thinking at all?”

“It wasn’t like that!” I snapped.

“Then what’s it like, Hailey?” Aiden questioned. “Because obviously, I’m not understanding the why here.”

“I needed to think about things,” I said. “You guys have been hovering like crazy.”

“Hovering?!” Aiden shouted. “Hovering? Do you really want to go that route? Why do you think we’ve been hovering, Hailey? After everything that’s happened with Dad and the demon you think we’d just let you be? You obviously don’t get that this demon is nasty and is gunning right for you.”

“He’s gunning for Sam too, Aiden!” I yelled. “Sammy ran off too! I didn’t do this by myself. And I’m not stupid this demon killed Mom. It just killed Dad, you think I haven’t gotten how big this fucking thing is?”

“Well, Sammy’s getting the bitching out of a century for his stunt,” Aiden rolled his eyes. “What do you think is going to happen to you?”

“I don’t know, Aiden,” I sighed.

“How’d you even get here, Hay?”

“Motorcycle,” I murmured.

“Motorcycle?” Aiden repeated, completely flabbergasted. “Where the fuck did you get a goddamn motorcycle from?”

“I bought it four years ago,” I stated. “It’s mine and I didn’t steal it.”

“Dean’s going to kill you,” Aiden sighed.

“Why?” I retorted. “Because I didn’t steal a car?”

“Hailey, I can promise you in the event that you did steal a car, that would be the least of your problems.”

“I’m sorry,” I sighed. “I just needed to be alone. I was perfectly safe, Aiden. I’m not an idiot.”

“The jury’s still out on that one, Hailey,” Aiden retorted.

“Go fuck yourself,” I hissed.

This time I got up and walked out of the library ignoring Aiden’s protests as I made my way to the cafeteria. I walked through the door and dropped down next to Tyler. He looked at me as I crossed my arms and slumped in my seat.

“Everything okay?” Tyler asked.

“Aiden’s here,” I glowered.

“Really?” Reid questioned

“Yeah,” I grunted.

“So, Dean’s not that far behind him?” Reid asked.

“Beats me,” I said.

I sat up straight and grabbed a few French fries off of Reid’s plate. Reid growled at me before shoving a burger and fries at me. I nodded my thanks before biting into my burger. Caleb, Pogue, and Kate came in a few minutes later with a blonde girl following after Caleb. They each slipped into the four available chairs and began to eat. I couldn’t stop looking at the blonde who I had never seen or heard about before. She had long blonde hair and dark blue eyes, her skin was pale, and she seemed so disgustingly normal.

“Hi, I’m Sarah,” The blonde introduced. “I’m Caleb’s girlfriend.”

“Really?” I smirked. “Well, it’s about time, Cale.”

“Thanks, Hailey,” Caleb huffed.

“Hailey Winchester?” Sarah asked.

“Guilty,” I smiled. “I’m Reid’s cousin.”

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” Sarah said. “It’s nice to meet you.”

We both smiled and went back to eating. I glanced around at the other people in the cafeteria or looking at the girls. I was the nearly the only one who was eating a burger and fries. Every other girl was eating salad I rolled my eyes realizing exactly how annoying this school was. It was a boarding school for the upper-class elite and it was a place where I’d never fit in.

Suddenly I heard the cafeteria doors slam open as heads whirled around to see a tall boy with spiky mussed light brown hair, slightly tight dark blue jeans with a skull and crossbones wallet chain. The outfit was completed by work boots and a broken-in leather jacket.

“Who is that?” Kate whispered.

“My brother,” I sighed. Nearly every female eye was on him as he walked straight for me. He was smirking, a look that he had learned straight from Dean because he knew without even looking at anyone that people thought he was attractive.

Just as he was about to reach me he turned to the side and looked at a frizzy red hair who in turn was staring at Aiden like he was a piece of meat. He smiled winking at her and she flushed, the boy next to her looked livid.

“Go fuck myself,” Aiden whispered in a voice only I could hear as his hands seized my shoulders in a gesture that could’ve been mistaken as friendly but in reality was a little bit painful. “Nice, Hailey. Eloquent even.”

“I learn from the best,” I responded.

Aiden cuffed me upside the head and I growled at him as he turned his attention to Reid.

“How’s it going, kid?” Aiden asked.

“Same old, same old,” Reid smirked. “How about you?”

“I’ve been better,” Aiden shrugged. “It’s been a crazy couple of months. Actually, can we talk alone?”

“Sure,” Reid replied.

He got up and when Aiden’s grip on my shoulder tightened signaling that I’d be involved in this conversation too. I followed after them as Reid led us to a completely deserted. They both turned to form a sort of triangle as we each looked at each other. Aiden dug into his pocket giving me my cell phone. I flushed and placed it in one of my socks, as this stupid skirt didn’t have pockets.

“Nice get up, Hails,” Aiden teased. “The schoolgirl look almost suits you.”

“Fuck you, Ads,” I sneered. “This whole idea was Reid’s.”

At Aiden’s questioning look Reid said, “Dean said to keep my eye on her.”

“I bet he did,” Aiden laughed.

“Where are the others?” Reid asked.

“They’re coming,” Aiden replied. “I got a message that they’re in Pennsylvania right now. They hit a little snag in Indiana.”

“What happened?” I asked.

“Gordon Walker decided that he needed to kill Sam,” Aiden said. “Kidnapped Dean to get to him.”

“Why would Gordon want to kill Sam?” I growled.

“He was torturing a demon,” Aiden explained. “Apparently the demon said that there’s a war coming and psychic’s like you and Sam are supposed to be fighting on hell’s side. According to Gordon and some of his other friends, you both are fair game.”

“Are they okay?” I demanded.

“They’re fine,” Aiden soothed. “And Gordon’s going to be in jail for quite a while.”

“Jail?” I growled.

“Yeah, Hay, a jail,” Aiden snarked. “What’s wrong with that?”

“He wants Sam and me dead and they didn’t take them out when they had the chance?” I snapped.

“They defended themselves,” Aiden said. “That’s all that Dad taught us to do defend ourselves.”

“He’ll get outta jail and then what?” I demanded.

“We’ll deal with it when it presents itself, Hay,” Aiden stated. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Nothing,” I fumed.

It was clear that Aiden seemed confused by my response but he didn’t press it turning to our cousin, “Reid your parents here?”

“Nah, they’re in the Bahamas,” Reid shrugged. “On ‘business’.”

“Can we borrow your house?” Aiden questioned. “There are no motels around here.”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Reid smiled. “There’s a spare key on the underside of the mailbox.”

“Thanks, Reid,” Aiden sighed. “And that’s for watching her.”

“It’s not a problem, dude,” Reid responded. “You guy’s gonna head over?”

“I think so,” Aiden said. “What do you think, Hay, had enough of school?”

“Definitely,” I nodded. “Just let me say goodbye.”

I walked back into the cafeteria hugging Pogue, Tyler, and Caleb goodbye. I smiled at Sarah and Kate saying that I might see them before I left but I didn’t know. I then walked back out into the hallway where Aiden and Reid were waiting. I hugged Reid before leading Aiden towards my motorcycle.

“No way,” Aiden scoffed. “You stole a motorcycle?”

“I own it,” I corrected. “I bought it years ago. You and Sam were in college.”

“How’d you even learn how to ride one of these things?” Aiden asked.

“One of the times Dean and I were recuperating at the roadhouse,” I said. “Dean was so out of it on pain meds that he doesn’t remember.”

“Jesus Christ,” Aiden mumbled. “You gonna mention it?”

 “Not if I can help it,” I replied. “I think the list I’ve run up is long enough.”

“I’d say,” Aiden winced in sympathy.

I climbed on the bike with Aiden getting on behind me. I didn’t have a spare helmet, but Aiden refused to take mine. I kicked the kickstand back and floored the engine laughing as Aiden’s arms wrapped around my middle tightly. I wheeled us back before flooring it out of Spenser’s parking lot and going in the direction of Garwin manor.

The first thing I noticed when we finally got there was that it hadn’t changed a bit. The place was still every bit of a fortress that it was when he had visited years ago. The entire property was protected with both spells and iron and little tricks that would keep anything remotely nasty out. The weirdest thing about the Garwin’s property was that it recognized family members if someone that was blood-related stepped on the grounds the front gates automatically swung open.

I drove straight through hearing the pure iron gates slam close behind us as we continued to ride up the path to the main house. I parked near two cars were currently parked and just like Reid had said the spare key was under the mailbox. Aiden grabbed it and opened the door and I followed after him. This house was ridiculously huge. It was so huge that whenever we had crashed here in the past a wing to ourselves. It also felt like it hadn’t been lived in for a while, which was probably the case with Reid being at school and Charlie off wherever she was. Both Danielle and Joseph frequently traveled.

“This house can be seriously creepy,” Aiden muttered as he walked further into the house.

“It just feels abandoned,” I replied.

“Yeah,” Aiden agreed, “which makes it creepy. Anyway, I’m hungry. You okay with Pizza?”

“Yup,” I nodded as we both dropped our duffel bags in the foyer.

“’M gonna order extra just in case Dean and Sam get here tonight,” Aiden told me as he wandered off in search of a phone.

When the pizza came, Aiden and I dug into one of the pies and saved the other one for Dean and Sam. The conversation was nearly non-existent until I decided to ask Aiden a few questions.

“How upset is Dean?” I asked setting down my second slice of pizza.

“He was really worried,” Aiden said. “And he then he got pissed. He was scared for you. I think he flashed back to when you got kidnapped. It freaked him out.”

“I didn’t do it to hurt him,” I mumbled. “Or you.”

“But, you did, Hailey,” Aiden frowned. “Your actions have consequences. Whether you mean it maliciously or not. You left in the middle of the night and we were just supposed to be okay with that? Gordon went after Sam, Hay! He had no back-up and neither did you. We’re supposed to be a team. You don’t just do that shit.”

“I think I’m gonna crash for a bit,” I sighed.

“Hailey!” Aiden growled, grabbing my arm and halting my progress. “Stop running away from your problems. That’s how you got into this mess.”

“Ads, I get it,” I frowned. “I hear you. I can’t change what happened.”

I walked back towards the staircase and walked up to the room that was just for me. I fell onto the giant bed, blissful as it contoured around my body. I tried to enjoy it as much as I could because it wasn’t going to stay nice and peaceful once the family was reunited.

**Dean’s Point of View**

_“This isn’t personal,” Gordon stated firmly, “I’m a hunter and your brother and that little sister of yours? They’re fair game.”_

_“Why?” I hissed._

_“I caught a low-level demon down in Louisiana, and somewhere between the head-spinning, the damn thing muttered something about a coming war. Now, it didn’t mean to but it piqued my interest. So the demon tells me they have soldiers to fight in this coming war. Humans fighting on hell’s side, you believe that? I mean, they’re psychics but so they aren’t exactly pure human, but still what kind of worthless scumbag would turn against your their race. But, the biggest kick in the ass? The demon said I knew not one of them but two.”_

Driving from Indiana to Massachusetts was proving to be the most irritating task of the day. Although, I guess I should be thankful that only one of my two flight risks nearly got themselves killed by a fucking psycho who decided that they were hunting worthy. I had told them, no begged them to stay low with us until we could figure things out, wait for everything to blow over, just a little bit. But, do they listen to me? No, because Sam and Hailey Winchester are nearly as bad as Dad when it came to being fucking stubborn.

I had sent Aiden on ahead so that he could talk to Hailey first. Mostly because I wanted to confront Sam by myself. That hadn’t worked out so well when Gordon apparently stabbed the psychic kid that Sam wanted to find and was gunning after Sam himself. Well, Gordo is going to be reaching for the soap for a couple years at least, which makes him one less thing for me to worry about.

Part of me felt bad for Hailey. I mean she was not only the youngest but also the only girl and even though she never complained about it, I knew that it would bother her sometimes. She was just as bad as Sammy with the whole wanting to deal with all of our emotions thing. But, I could’ve sworn I had made it clear to her that running away was not an option, ever and especially not now. What if Gordon had gone after Hailey instead of Sam? We didn’t even know she was in Ipswich until I called Reid. She would’ve been alone and unprotected. A sitting duck. What they both did verge on suicidally reckless. And, while running from problems was both the Sam and Hailey Winchester patented style both Dad and I had broken them of it before they were even teenagers.

Then just as suddenly Sam and Aiden come back into hunting to look for Dad; Hailey decided that running was a good idea all over again. She had left a note and her reason was valid. A hell of a lot more valid than I-needed-time-to-think-and-decided-to-leave-half-my-weapons-and-my-cell-phone-behind.

“You okay there, Dean?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” I grunted.

“Really?” Sam prodded. “Because last I checked the impala didn’t do anything to you.”

“What are you talking about?” I growled.

Sam gestured to the steering wheel and I noticed for the first time how tight my grip was. I loosened it and aimed a you happy look to Sam who rolled his eyes.

“I did the same thing, Dean,” Sam said quietly.

“What’s your point, Sammy?” I sighed.

“She was just doing what she thought was right,” Sam shrugged.

“She thought this whole clusterfuck was right?” I retorted. “She lied Sam to Reid to me, she left without her phone, abandoned half her weapons, put herself in danger and at risk by running away as far as she did. You think she thought that was she was doing was okay?”

“Dean,” Sam huffed.

“No, Sam, tell me,” I replied. “You remember how Dad was when you were eighteen. I mean before you left for school. Hell, I remember one hunt where you did like two things in the list that Hails has managed to wrack up. What did Dad do?”

I saw Sam squirm in the passenger seat as he flushed suddenly not having anything to say.

“Yeah, you got your ass beat,” I responded ruthlessly, “You’re telling me that I shouldn’t be angry at Hailey? That I should just cut her some slack? For what so that she could do this again?”

“Okay,” Sam sighed. “I get it, okay?”

I nodded tightly noticing the sign for Ipswich, Massachusetts. We would be at Reid’s house in five minutes tops. But, Sam had one point, I shouldn’t just be ready to fly off the handle. It wouldn’t help Hailey or me and I honestly wanted to know what she was thinking, and she wouldn’t tell me anything if I just barged in and started yelling at her. That was one thing Dad never understood. Someone could yell in Hailey’s face for hours and she wouldn’t give a shit. She might punch anyone who would be stupid enough to try but it wouldn’t have any effect. Sometimes just explaining something was enough to get Hailey to follow.

I drove the impala through the Garwin’s gated driveway and parked next to a dark blue motorcycle. My eyes narrowed as I walked past it, already knowing that it was how Hailey had gotten here. I didn’t know why she didn’t just steal a car, it wasn’t like she didn’t know how.

Sam opened the front door and led the way into the kitchen where a pizza box was waiting on the counter. I smiled and tapped Aiden on the shoulder who nodded in return. We were just standing around the pizza box when I heard the quiet tread of footsteps coming from the hallway. I turned and saw Hailey who looked really nervous. She seemed to be looking over both Sam and I for injuries of any kind, which led me to believe that Aiden had told her about the hold up in Indiana.

“Hey,” Hailey greeted.

“Hey Hails,” Sam replied.

Hailey met my eyes uncertainly. She was waiting for me to take charge of the situation. I closed the distance between us, wrapping her into my arms. I rested my chin on the top of her head. I felt the tension run out of her as she hugged me back.

“Hey, Sam, you wanna head out to that bar?” Aiden asked looking uncomfortable. “Reid will probably be there.”

“That’s a good idea,” Sam said.

I rolled my eyes at their attempt to project that they had just come up with that plan. But it was probably better if they were out of the house for a while. It would give Hailey and me more than enough time to catch up.

“Take the car,” I suggested tossing the impala’s car keys to Aiden.

I began to walk to where the bedrooms were, dragging Hailey alongside me. I pushed her into her bedroom before closing the door behind us. I looked her over making sure that there were no new bruises or anything wrong. When I deemed that she was in fact perfectly fine I calmed down slightly.

“Can you tell me what the hell you were thinking?” I growled.

Instead of looking like the picture of contrition, Hailey’s nose flared as her eyes narrowed, “I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Don’t bet on that horse, Hailey Jade,” I warned.

“I needed some time to think,” Hailey sighed.

“So you vanish in the middle of the fucking night leaving no clue where you could possibly be?” I demanded. “You’re telling me you went through all this trouble just so that you could fucking think? Completely disregarding everything I told you earlier that day?”

Hailey didn’t have a response to that instead she crossed her arms and glared sullenly at the floor. Like the floor was to blame for the sudden surge of bad decisions she had made.

“What part of laying low is a good idea right now didn’t you get?” I reprimanded sharply. “If I tell you something it’s for a good reason and as it turns out someone has it out for you and Sammy.”

“It’s not our fault we’re psychic!” Hailey hissed.

“You’re right it’s not,” I agreed, “but apparently it’s enough to have hunters gunning straight for you. What if Gordon had come here instead of Indiana?”

“Why would that have mattered, Dean?” Hailey demanded. “I have all the same training you have.”

“That matters because if one hunter thinks it’s fine and dandy to hunt you than there are others, Hailey! You’ve seen the way Gordon hunts he doesn’t play fair.” I snapped. “You really want a pack of hunters trying to kill you? You’d never be able to get out of that by yourself.”

“I’m not some defenseless girl!” Hailey grumbled.

“Yeah, Hailey, I taught you nearly every move you know,” I frowned. “And despite the fact that maybe you could defend yourself, you forgot a promise you made to me a few months ago.”

“Dean…” Hailey whispered. “…I.”

“You honestly want to try to explain your actions?” I asked sharply. “Because I’m pretty sure I understand everything. You managed to both ignore a direct order to lay low as well as break every rule dad or I have ever set for you.”

Hailey frowned her eyebrows knitting together as she shot me a miserable look. Then her gaze dropped as she flushed at the reprimand. I sighed to myself wishing more than anything that dad was here, and he would be the one to take care of this. But, even when we were kids Hailey had been my responsibility and I was going to show her that things hadn’t changed one bit.

“I only wanted time to think,” Hailey muttered.

“Don’t worry, Hailey, everything going to become crystal clear in a few minutes,” I responded, rolling up the sleeves of my flannel shirt.

Hailey began to fidget her fingers twisting at the bottom of her shirt as she bit her bottom lip. The kid knew she messed up and I knew that she also had a lot on her plate at the moment, but this wasn’t something I was going to do again. She couldn’t just run off whenever she damn well felt like it. Hailey became more nervous as I unbuckled my belt, pulling it free from my jeans as I folded it in half.

“Dean, please,” Hailey pleaded.

“Come on, Hails,” I sighed. “This is happening. Come over here.”

Hailey sniffled once her big blue eyes welling with tears, as she took on small step forward. I sat down purposefully at the edge of the bed, I put my belt next to me and she eyed it nervously as she crept forward, moving slowly to my side. Her nervousness was understandable she had never been belted before, had never done anything bad enough to warrant it but I knew without a doubt that dad would’ve done the same thing.

“Drop ‘em,” I ordered.

She followed the order unzipping her jeans and pushing them down her legs. I grabbed her and helped her over my lap. I didn’t give her any time to get used to the position, starting in with two sharp blows. She gasped at them but quickly fell silent as I heated up her behind with long, slow smacks. It didn’t take long for Hailey to start squirming and I picked up the pace now favoring frequency over force. The change was immediate as Hailey let out a low whimper as her legs began to kick at the growing sting. Just when I thought I was getting through to her she bucked up once trying to loosen my hold around her waist.

“Am I going to have to do this again?” I demanded, raising my voice to be heard over her cries, “I need to be able to trust you, Hailey Jade and I can’t if you break your promises.”

“I’m sorry!” Hailey sobbed.

“Are you?” I growled. “Why did you do this?”

“How would you feel?” Hailey demanded.

I paused, still my movements looking at the back of her head in surprise, “Excuse me?”

“Do you have any idea how much it hurts to hear that Dad said you might have to kill me?” Hailey bawled. “It’s not my fault I’m a freak. Hell, I know you think I’m a freak to just by the looks you give me! I’m no better than the things we hunt.”

“That is not true,” I contradicted. I started back up again as I continued to speak, “And I’m not going to have to kill you because you’re not evil. There is nothing wrong with you!”

“Yeah, then why the hell are people hunting Sam and I, Dean?” Hailey retorted.

“No one is going to hurt you, not when I’m around,” I replied easily.

Hailey huffed once as I continued with the heavy-handed blows. Sometimes I switched up favoring either frequency or force. Sometimes both which made her howl. Eventually, her hands moved back to cover herself from the fiery onslaught and I pinned her hands to the small of her back. She growled kicking harder as I shifted trapping her legs between my own. Being completely trapped did nothing to calm Hailey’s sudden surge of anger; instead, she burst into loud, angry tears as she buried her face into the covers of the bed.

“Why is this happening, Hailey?” I demanded a few minutes later when her squirming became more frequent and her breathing took on a note of distress.

“I ran away and broke my promise,” Hailey moaned, “please, Dean, stop.”

“We’re almost done,” I soothed.

Instead of being soothed by my words her sobbing kicked up a notch as I shifted reaching for the belt. Hailey began to plead and cry, as much as it hurt to hear my sister crying I knew that once everything was through she would think back to this the next time she even thought about running away.

“Dean!” Hailey cried her voice a mixture of whining and pleading as she gasped for breath, tears rolling down her face. “Deeeeeean.”

“I’m not going anywhere and neither are you,” I said firmly, as I picked up the belt and smacked it down sharply on the crease near the bottom of Hailey’s butt. She arched up letting loose a wet holler as the belt met her skin again. And then the sounds were limited to the whoosh and thud of the belt and Hailey’s loud, sobbing protests.

The spanking stopped a few minutes later as I tossed my belt across the room. Hailey was lying limp, her face buried in the duvet cover; her shoulders shaking as she sobs. And I just felt tired.

**Hailey’s Point of View**

I had always thought that Dean spanking with just his hand was painful. At least that was until the belt landed. And there was nowhere for the belt to land but on just spanked skin. If I thought I was sobbing before, I was nearly hysterical by the time he stopped. The tears were one continuous stream as my shoulders shook with body wrenching sobs. I felt Dean pull up my panties and I hissed as it renewed the smoldering volcano of agony.

Dean’s hand was on my back rubbing soothing circles as he began to hum under his breath. The deep rumbling ghosted over me instantly making me calm and I felt safe. Sure, the spanking hurt but I felt so guilty. Of how my actions had affected Aiden and Dean. I had broken my promise, lied to my cousin, and broke the cell phone rule. I felt horrible and I knew I wouldn’t be sitting comfortably for the next couple of days at least. The worst part was that I knew I deserved every last handprint and belt stripe that had turned my ass a whole new color.

Suddenly Dean was spinning me around lifting me into his strong arms as my head burrowed into his neck and my hand latched onto Dean’s flannel shirt. It was an odd turn of events moments ago I didn’t want Dean to touch me and now my hand had grabbed onto his flannel shirt in a death grip. I continued to cry into Dean’s neck as he shushed me and then just started talking. The deep rumbling growl that had minutes ago lectured so harshly was now incredibly comforting as I melted into his solid frame.

“Shhh, Hails, its alright baby,” Dean whispered. “You’re all right. You’re okay.”

I shook my head and Dean clucked his tongue, “It will be okay, Hailey. We’re going to kill that yellow-eyed son of a bitch and any hunter who is stupid enough to think that you’re a monster. You know you can come to me for anything. If you talk I’m going to listen, baby. I didn’t know my reaction was hurting your feelings this much.”

“I’m sorry that I ran off without telling you, Dean,” I mumbled. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I just didn’t think.”

“I know,” Dean sighed. “That’s part of the problem, Hay, you have to think things through. I know what I told you sucked but nothing is going to happen to you. I’m not going to have to kill you or Sam. It won’t happen. You hear me?”

I nodded and tears began to fall again as Dean rocked me back and forth. When the tears finally stopped falling I leaned away from Dean and he looked down at me.

“It’s been a crappy day,” Dean sighed. “Let’s call it a night, huh?”

“Okay,” I rasped, my voice nearly non-existent from crying. Dean got up and turned back the covers.

I climbed into the bed hissing as Dean placed the cover over my fried ass. Dean moved to leave the room when my hand grabbed his wrist.

“Stay?” I whispered.

Dean smiled softly and nodded. I felt the bed dip as Dean climbed into bed. I felt the solid weight of his arm as I finally fell into a decent sleep. If only it stayed that way.


	19. Let Me Fall

 

_My heart slammed hard against my ribcage, my heart roared loudly in my ears. My breathing was loud and panicked. I didn’t recognize my surroundings, something that wasn’t a foreign concept but the fact that there was blood everywhere was concerning. It was splattered against the walls, floor, and ceilings. There was also a wet trail leading all the way down the hallway and curving around. I didn’t recognize where I was but the hair on the back of my neck was standing on end. I had a gun clutched in one hand and a flashlight in the other. There was too much blood, so much that someone couldn’t possibly survive what had happened._

_I turned the corner was slammed against the wall. I fought the initial wave of panic, moving to defend myself when I saw who had shoved me. Trevor. He took the gun throwing it down the hallway. The flashlight followed quickly rolling away and I saw deadened eyes of a person. I yelped in surprise before looking at Trevor. He looked crazed, his eyes were glazed, and his hair was a mess._

_“Hailey!” Trevor gasped. His hands were grabbing my biceps with bruising force. ”Hails, you shouldn’t be here. How’d you get here?”_

_“Oh, I took that particular liberty,” A voice replied coming down the hallway. “I figured you wouldn’t mind, Trevor.”_

_“Azazel,” I snarled._

_“Well, hello there, Hailey,” Azazel smiled. “I see we have a mutual acquaintance. Although you too have been more intimately acquainted, haven’t you?”_

_“Don’t talk to her,” Trevor snarled._

_“Oh, kiddo, you’re in no position to be giving orders,” Azazel snapped hurling Trevor into the wall opposite mine, “you see, kid, you’re telling my star pupil here things I don’t need her to know yet.”_

_“So what?” Trevor hissed._

_“Do you know what happens to bad little soldiers?” Azazel asked._

_“Don’t touch him,” I yelled._

_“Now, now, Hailey, your boyfriend and I are having a serious conversation,” Azazel scolded._

_I realized why I had felt so awful before, almost like a part of me was missing. The reason why Azazel had pinned me so easily was the fact that my abilities didn’t work in here. Or at least they weren’t responding, and I tried everything I could think of to get them to start. I was completely defenseless, a fact that Azazel relished._

_“What’s wrong, Trevor?” Azazel smirked. “Hard to get it up without your meat?”_

_I glanced at Trevor who seemed to be having the same difficulty I was. Our eyes caught and I saw the terror that Trevor was struggling to mask. I wanted to know where all the blood had come from. Whose could it possibly be?_

_“What we’re in right now, is an instant replay of Trevor’s past,” Azazel explained. “This is the fallout of Zack Moore’s attempt to summon me. A lot of bodies dropped that day. Ain’t that right, squirt?”_

_“Fuck you,” Trevor hissed._

_“This has been fun, but I’m going to cut to the chase,” Azazel stated. “I never thought two of my children would find each other, let alone love each other. Not exactly what I was planning, and you know why? It won’t work. You see, I only need one from my two generations to lead what I need them too.”_

_“Which is what?” I demanded._

_“You’ll find out,” Azazel smirked. “After all, Hailey, you’re in the top of your class, Trevor on the other hand, well, he’s flunked out.”_

_“Don’t you dare touch him,” I hissed._

_“I don’t have to.”_

_I gasped as Trevor arched his back, blood soaking through his shirt. When Trevor began to scream, I struggled to get off the wall but found no luck. I watched as Trevor’s chest became ribbons and he screamed in agony. I was screaming and bawling not only watching Trevor die but seeing how Dean was hurt a few months before. It brought back horrible memories, but this was worse. There was nothing I could do, even though I fought with everything I had. When Trevor was suddenly quiet his head hanging low, my heart dropped into my stomach. He wasn’t moving at all. And I was 95 percent sure that he wasn’t breathing either._

_“That’s what happens to bad little soldiers,” Azazel said. “You remember that, Hailey.”_

_I was about to respond when a sudden burning hot pain ripped through my abdomen. It felt even worse than the first time Azazel had done that to me. He stared at me for only a moment more before the pain went away as quickly as it started._

_“I’m going to kill you. I swear to god.”_

_“I’m looking forward to seeing you try, sweetheart.”_

_He vanished within an instant and both Trevor and I fell from the wall. I landed on my feet, Trevor, however, crumbled to the ground._

_“Trevor!” I sobbed. “Oh, god, Trevor.”_

_I ran over, dropping to my knees and I put my fingers to his neck. I didn’t feel a pulse and I muffled a cry. I grabbed him my arms as I let out a mournful wail. This couldn’t be happening._

“Hailey!” Someone shouted. “Hailey, wake up!”

_“Trevor,” I screamed. “Oh, god, Trevor, please!”_

_I heard the sound of glass shattering as someone was shaking me._

“Hailey!” Some screamed shaking me firmly.

With one loud scream, I rocketed out of bed.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Dean whispered in my ear as he pulled me against his chest. “Calm down, it’s okay. It was just a dream.”

“LET ME GO!”

“Hailey, Hay, it’s okay, you’re okay.”

I buried my elbow into his stomach as I sprang across the bed and onto the floor. Dean lay prone on the bed, his hands holding his stomach. I didn’t stop as I grabbed my phone immediately dialing Trevor’s number. When he didn’t pick up I began to tremble, tears filling my eyes. This couldn’t be happening. It hadn’t felt like a dream. I picked up a corner of my shirt, revealing my bruised stomach.

“Hails,” Dean gaped.

I ignored my brother, attempting to call Trevor again. Once again, he didn’t answer. I started to tremble as tears filled my eyes. If Azazel had the power to maim me in a dream, then Trevor could…he could… I didn’t want to think about it. But I remembered the feeling of his blood, slick on my hands, seeping into the knees of my jeans as I held him close.

The door to my room banged open slamming against the wall as Aiden and Sam rushed in.  They quickly realized that they had walked into something and stood in the doorway.

“What’s going on?” Sam wondered.

“Stand down,” Dean ordered. “Hailey, no one here is going to hurt you.”

I watched with wary eyes as Dean stood up, holding his hands out as he approached me. He and I also took the moment to look at the room, it was a mess as anything glass like was dust. Before anyone could say a word, Reid and his friends also ran in. Their eyes were black as they made sure there was no threat. Seconds later the glass had been fixed as their eyes went back to normal.

“What the fuck is going on?” Aiden demanded.

 “Hailey was screaming and then everything just burst,” Dean explained. “I don’t know why she was screaming, though. Wanna clarify, Hails?”

“She’s bleeding,” Caleb pointed out.

I looked down and noticed that there were small cuts over my arms and legs. I didn’t feel anything. I couldn’t feel anything. In my attempt to once again call Trevor, Dean blindsided me, grabbing me around the waist. I kicked against his shins and attempted to bury an elbow in his stomach, but he shifted me to his hip, carrying me into the bathroom and closing the door. Dean placed me on the counter as he grabbed the bandages and antiseptic. I tried to get off the counter, but Dean just pushed me back down giving me a warning look.

“Hailey, stay still,” Dean ordered sharply.

“Dean stop,” I retorted. “I have to talk to Trevor.”

“Whatever happened can wait,” Dean commanded. “You’re bleeding pretty badly, Hails.”

“It can’t wait,” I snapped. “I have to get my phone.”

“No,” Dean said making a subtle move to stand in front of the door.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” I whispered. “Trevor’s in trouble, Dean. I need to talk to him.”

“First, that little elbow before was a lucky shot, squirt,” Dean growled. “Second you’re not doing anything until we clean you up.”

Dean’s eyes were stern and I knew that he wasn’t going to back down. I set my jaw as I jumped back onto the counter.

“Let’s get this over with,” I growled.

Dean didn’t say a word as he began to clean out the smaller cuts on my legs and arms before prodding my ribs and lightly brushing over my stomach, making sure nothing was broken. I winced at the rubbing alcohol and then sighed as Dean bandaged each cut with either band-aids or an ace bandage around my stomach.

“We good here?” I asked.

“Hailey,” Dean growled.

I turned on my heel walking out of the bathroom. Everyone was still gathered in the bedroom, but I ignored it grabbing my phone and dialing Trevor’s number again, this time it went directly to voicemail. I was seconds away from losing my shit when my phone began to ring.

“Yeah?” I demanded.

 “Hailey,” Natasha sniffed. “Oh, god, Hailey!”

“Taz?” I whispered. “No, no. It can’t be true.”

 “He was crashing at my place,” Natasha explained. “I should’ve known. Everything tonight just felt wrong. Something woke me at four in the morning, Trevor was crashing in the guest room. I found him pinned to the ceiling, his stomach was-”

“-Ripped open.”

“Then the fire started,” Natasha whispered. “I barely got out alive. Hailey, I’m so sorry.”

“S’not your fault,” I sighed. “I saw it happen.”

“Oh, god,” Natasha whimpered.

The sound of sadness caused a sob to bubble up in my throat. I disconnected the phone and attempted to run back into the bathroom, instead I ran right into Dean placed his hands on my shoulders.

“What’s going on?” Reid demanded.

“Reid, can you give us all a minute?” Dean asked, looking over my shoulder.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Caleb agreed.

I heard Caleb, Pogue, Reid, and Tyler leave as I struggled against Dean’s hold.

“Let me go!” I screamed.

“Tell me what happened,” Dean responded.

“Let me go,” I howled. “Just let me go!”

“Hay, just tell us what’s going on?” Aiden said. “You’re freaking us out.”

“Trevor’s dead,” I wailed. “He’s dead. _He’s dead_.”

“What?” Sam gasped.

Tears were streaming down my face as my knees buckled under me. Dean barely kept me from hitting the ground, wrapping his arms around me.

“How?” Dean asked.

“Azazel,” I cried. “He killed Trevor right in front of me. He dragged me into Trevor’s dream and I watched him die,” I responded. “Natasha said her apartments gone, he was staying with her.”

“Jesus,” Dean whispered.

“Just let me go,” I whimpered.

“No way,” Dean retorted. “We have your back.”

Dean had followed me to the floor, settling me on his lap, his arms holding me close. Sam and Aiden sat on either side of Dean, their hands on my knee, grounding me in the moment.  A moment in which I felt lost and more than a little dangerous. I had lost three people all of who were close to me. If I wasn’t cursed I didn’t know what I was. I just couldn’t believe Trevor was dead and I had watched it happen. I may not have been there in the flesh, but I watched it, felt it happen. Saw the light leave his eyes, felt the heavy weight of his body, the blood on my hands, the blood that seeped into my jeans as I cradled his corpse.

“I’m a curse,” I whispered. “I’ve killed two people.”

“That’s not true,” Sam snapped sharply. “We have the same things happening to us.”

“Mom died in my nursery and I just saw my boyfriend die,” I responded.

“It’s that yellow-eyed son of a bitch,” Dean stated. “You’re not cursed.”

“He came back for me,” I sobbed. “If Mom hadn’t had me, our parents would still be alive.”

“Hails,” Aiden gasped.

 “I wanna get out of here,” I said firmly.

“Hailey,” Dean sighed.

“No,” I shook my head. “I wanna get outta here.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dean said.

 “Trevor died,” I sighed. “I said that I’d kill Azazel and I’m keeping my promise.”

One did not stun Dean Winchester very often. He normally had something to say for everything but this time he couldn’t say a word except for a mumbled fine. Besides I didn’t want to sit still and just have nothing to do but think about Trevor and watch him die over and over again. At least if we were moving I could keep my mind off of it somehow. My brother’s left to pack up and it wouldn’t take very long, after all, we were all nearly packed already.

“You sure this is a good idea, Hails?” Reid asked.

“Yes, of course,” I responded.

“Really because you shattered anything remotely glass like in the entire house with one scream?” Reid prodded.

“I have telekinesis,” I stated. “Maybe when I gave a metal push, and everything shattered. It was a direct reaction to me being threatened. I was trying to get my abilities to work inside my dreams it makes sense that it would work outside as well.”

“Just be careful,” Reid whispered.

“Always,” I grinned. “Watch my bike, okay?”

“Yeah, of course,” Reid scoffed. “Besides, Dean told me not to let you within ten feet of that thing.”

I huffed and rolled my eyes as I stuffed some stray clothes into one of my duffels. I grabbed them both as Reid and I waited by the impala. When my brothers came off I hugged Reid close. He picked me up before setting me back on my feet. Reid said goodbye to Sam, Aiden, and Dean before we got in the car, driving away.

The drive to the roadhouse was nearly completely silent and I hated it. I kept hearing Trevor’s screams and watching him die. I couldn’t think about it, not anymore. The more I thought about it, the more I was torturing myself. I felt guilty as hell but maybe, just maybe, I’d feel better once Azazel was no longer breathing.

I felt a hand on my knee and I knew it Aiden without even looking up. After all, he was the only one who was back here with me. Sam was sleeping, and Dean was driving, although I could feel his eyes on me from time to time.

“I’m fine,” I sighed.

“No, you’re not,” Aiden said.

“Back off, Aiden,” I warned. “I’m good enough to hunt and that’s all that matters right now.”

I’d have to be blind to miss the look that Dean and Aiden shared but I didn’t care right now. There were only two thoughts on my mind right now and that was protecting what was left of my family and killing the demon that started this mess in the first place.

By the time we got to the Roadhouse, it was nearly midnight. It looked like it was another busy night as there were a lot of cars in the lot and the music was echoing outside. I climbed out of the impala and walked with my brothers into the roadhouse. People’s heads swiveled around and just as quickly turned away.

“Guys?” Ellen called, coming out from around the bar. “Everything okay?”

“Trevor’s dead,” I said.

“How?” Ellen gasped.

“The demon,” I stated.

“Oh, my god,” Ellen whispered.

She closed the distance between us grabbing me into a hug. I felt a tickle in my nose and my eyes stung with the effort it took not to let the tears fall. When she pulled away I saw her eyes were moist as well. She nodded before gesturing us to come into the bar. She moved behind the bar again and I hopped into one of the bar stools as Dean and Sam sat on either side of me. Aiden was on Dean’s other side as Ellen took out five shot glasses. She poured out five shots of vodka before giving one to Sam, Dean, Aiden, and I. I looked to the side and Dean nodded his head giving me the go-ahead to take the shot.

“To Trevor Moore, a damn good kid, and an unbelievable hunter,” Ellen toasted.

We all raised our glasses before downing the shot. It burned the back of my throat but then it felt warm. Ellen gave us all another shot and this time I took it immediately. I knew it would take a lot more than two shots to make me forget about what had happened and Dean would most likely stop me way before then but there was always getting back to this after everyone had gone to bed.

That was exactly what I did. As the last person walked out of the bar everyone said goodnight to each other and we made our way to our separate rooms. I waited with the lights off for about an hour; when I heard no one moving I opened my door and crept out my room and back into the main room. I snagged the bottle of vodka off the shelf and took a healthy swig as I got on my computer. Ash had said that the demon hadn’t shown up on his computer but that didn’t mean that I wouldn’t find something.

After three hours I realized that the demon hadn’t shown up anywhere. I growled going from upset straight into belligerent. The alcohol may have helped with that but right now I felt so angry. Why did this always happen to my family and I? Didn’t we deserve happiness? Didn’t we deserve normalcy? A stable home environment and a normal childhood in which our father was actually a father to all the Winchester children instead of just the oldest two?

Sure, life wasn’t fair, and my life was no different but it seemed like every horrible thing that was out there happened to us. We had lost both our parents from the same goddamn demon. Dean had almost died, and Sam and Aiden couldn’t go to school just because the Winchester’s couldn’t be normal. You can’t deny what’s out there, what exists under the shadows. Once you’re a hunter, you’re one for life. You can’t retire, and you can’t just quit. If someone thinks they actually are the exception for the rule then they’re foolish. You let down your guard you’re asking for something to kill you. If my father wasn’t an example of that than I didn’t know what was

“Hay, what are you doing?” Aiden hissed. “What are you still doing up?”

“Couldn’t sleep,” I mumbled.

“Did you try?”

“No.”

“Hay, the pain isn’t going to go away by drinking.”

“It goes away for a while.”

“Then it comes back twice as worse. Come on, Hay. It’s time to go to sleep.”

“You hated him,” I whimpered as Aiden pulled me to my feet.

“What are you talking about?” Aiden sighed.

“You hated Trevor,” I said. “You never gave him a chance.”

“I’m sorry,” Aiden whispered leading me into my bedroom.

Aiden pulled the covers back and pushed me into the bed. I shook my head and Aiden sat down on the edge of my bed waiting for me to fall asleep. I remembered that this was the same room where Trevor and I first really talked and kissed. I sighed rolling onto my side, wondering vaguely if this was why Dad had left Lawrence and drank on a near constant basis for the first couple months after she died. Everything probably reminded Dad of Mom and because of that Dad took us out of the only home we’d ever really have. And now because I had no home, I had nowhere to run to because every time I hunted or used my abilities I’d be reminded of Trevor. I didn’t know if I was strong enough for that kind of daily reminder.

“You’re really pushing your luck, Hails,” Jo sighed.

I groaned clapping my hands to my throbbing head. My mouth felt dry and the room was too bright. I didn’t even want to move because my stomach was tumbling and already threatening to backfire on me. I didn’t remember making it back into my room, but there I was. Sprawled on the bed, fully clothed down to my boots with an almost empty bottle of vodka on the nightstand.

“Drink this,” Jo ordered when I finally leaned against the headboard. I took the water and drained it, “You shouldn’t have had that much.”

“It wasn’t,” I muttered.

“Yeah, it was,” Jo corrected. “You drank nearly the whole bottle. And when was the last time you ate?”

“Who cares,” I muttered.

Jo was saved from arguing against what I had just said when I sprang out of bed and ran into the bathroom. I collapsed to my knees and vomited. Great, now not only did my head hurt but now my knees hurt too. I brushed my teeth before wandering back into the main room where my brothers were eating breakfast.

“You know, Hay, I know a really good hangover remedy,” Aiden called, grinning wickedly. “It’s a greasy pork sandwich, served up in a dirty ashtray.”

I turned a sickening shade of green as my stomach rolled. Dean smacked Aiden upside the head without even looking up from the newspaper he was reading. Aiden looked indignant to say the least as he shot a glower in Dean’s direction. Sam for his part rolled his eyes. I took the spot in between Dean and Sam.

“Take these,” Dean ordered. “It’ll make you feel better.”

“I guess drinking half a bottle of vodka by yourself wasn’t such a brilliant idea, was it, Hails?” Sam sighed.

“Seemed like a better idea, at the time,” I frowned.

 “Don’t do it again, Hailey,” Dean said firmly.

Aiden scoffed and huffed again looking irritated.

“What’s your problem, Ads?” Dean demanded.

“This is the second time she drank,” Aiden shrugged.

“Your point?” Dean sighed.

“The last time you told her not until she’s twenty-one and she’s still eighteen, Dean,” Aiden grumbled. “Now she’s barely even being reprimanded.”

“Who the fuck asked for your input, Aiden?" I sneered

“Hailey,” Dean warned.

“Aiden you think you could be remotely sympathetic to her?” Sam questioned. “She just lost her boyfriend. She watched him die.”

“I know,” Aiden groaned. “But she can’t keep drinking to wash the pain away. She isn’t dad and it’s dangerous.”

“Almost like snorting coke?” I snarled.

“Hailey Jade!” Dean reprimanded sharply.

I slid off my chair and moved quickly out of the roadhouse. Before I hit the door I heard the muffled conversation that my brothers’ were having. Dean was of the mind frame to just let me be and Aiden said that I was just lashing out and he understood. I had felt guilty for jabbing Aiden about his drug habit no less. I’d have to apologize later. None of us handled grief really well if the last few months of mourning dad was anything to go by. The weirdest thing about this whole thing was the fact that I felt lonely. The only place that I thought I’d never feel like this would be the Roadhouse, it was a safe house for hunters and it was one of the places where my brothers and I could talk about anything and not worry about being questioned unless that was a question to help us out on something. The roadhouse was the one where we could embrace who we were and now I felt isolated and alone.

I now had something that separated me from my brothers’ something that they couldn’t relate too. The boy I liked, no I think I loved him. I slumped to my knees as the weight of that statement hit me full in the chest. I had loved Trevor and I was pretty sure that he loved me as well and now he was gone. Sam, Dean, and Aiden didn’t know what that was like and maybe it made things worse. Before we could unify in our grief for losing our parents, it made it an easier cross to bear but now I was on my own struggling with my own grief.

There wasn’t anything I could do though. Trevor was dead and he wasn’t ever coming back. My parents weren’t coming back either. My brothers were all I had and most of the time they were all I needed. And then there were times like this when I wished my mom was still alive or even my father. I wished we had a house in the suburbs and the fact that Sam and Aiden both had full rides to Stanford was something to be praised instead of shunned for. I wish that Dean had the auto shop of his dreams. I wanted my mother around to give me advice on boys and give me the sex talk (because getting that talk from Dean was one of the most awkward things in the whole world). I wished that my dad and my brothers could bond over football or something.

But that wasn’t the life I had or the life that my brothers got. Instead, we were trained as warriors and maybe that was what we were. And despite all the negative things, most of the time things were okay. The downtime we had between hunts and the kind of bond my brothers and I shared couldn’t be severed or duplicated. The Winchester family was one of a kind. And, even though I loved my brothers to death, I couldn’t help lashing out. After all who better to cut to the quick than your own flesh and blood.

“It’s cold out here, Hailey,” Dean whispered from behind me. “Here’s your jacket.”

“I’m fine,” I mumbled.

“Take the jacket, Hails,” Dean ordered.

I took my jacket from Dean’s grasp and slid it over my arms.

“I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that this was your one free pass,” Dean said.

It looked as though Dean wanted to say something else but either chose not to or decided against it because he laid a hand on my shoulder before walking back into the Roadhouse, leaving me alone with my thoughts again. I dug my hands into my pocket as I stood back up walking around the Roadhouses property.

“You going to freeze yourself?” Aiden asked easing down to sit next to me.

“What are you talking about?” I muttered.

“Your lips are blue and you’re shivering,” Aiden sighed pulling me into his side.

“You don’t understand,” I whimpered.

“You’re right,” Aiden shrugged. “I don’t understand. But what I can do is be there for you and I am, Hay. You never have to carry anything by yourself. You’re not dad, Hailey, you need us.”

“You hated Trevor, Aiden. Dean did too.”

 “He was dating our little sister. I found him half-naked, asleep in your bed, so we didn’t get along. It didn’t mean that we weren’t happy that you were happy and when it came down to it that’s what mattered.”

“I miss him, Aiden. I miss him a lot.”

 “I promise you that demon’s going to reach his expiration date very soon.”

I didn’t say a word as Aiden pulled me into his chest as I burrowed my face into his neck. He rubbed my back humming gently under his breath, it was a tune I couldn’t exactly place but the melody ran straight back to our childhoods. It was a melody only sung during nightmares and illnesses or other times where either Sam, Aiden, and I was miserable. I think that Dean had remembered it from mom or maybe dad but for as long as I could remember Dean would sing it to us and then Aiden used to sing it to me.

“Come on, Hails, it’s time to go inside Before you get sick on top of everything else.”

Aiden helped me to my feet and together we walked into the roadhouse where it looked nearly completely empty. I figured that everyone was off doing they’re separate things. He had his arm slung over my shoulders, bringing me into his side. I had stopped crying for the moment, but I knew that my eyes and nose were red. As Aiden I made our way into the main room, we heard a crash followed by muffled cursing from the kitchen before a bashful Sam and an enraged Ellen made their appearance.

“Hails!” Sam exclaimed.

I caught the scent of something burning which would explain why Ellen looked less than thrilled. She had tossed Sam the keys to one of the pickup trucks out back with a firm order of getting decent food since he had distracted her from dinner in the first place. Sam looked between Aiden and I before he grabbed my arm saying that I was going to come too. I stumbled for a second before following Sam outside and into the truck.

The ride to the closest diner was quiet and Sam was looking sheepish at best I don’t know how dinner had gotten ruined or why Sam was to blame. I figured that Sam had been in there when something started to burn, so Ellen placed the blame on Sam and since he was the only one around, he got stuck with the dinner run.

When we got there Sam and I hopped out of the truck. It was easy to order for Aiden and Dean. They always got cheeseburgers with extra onions. Sam remember to get a pie and the rest of the order flew over my head. I sat down on one of the old vinyl stools content to wait. The weather had made a turn for the worst as we sat waiting, rain pouring down quick and sudden. I was on my phone, passing the time when the hair on the back of my neck stood up, then there was a sharp, acrid smell…sulfur, and then everything went black.

**Dean’s Point of View**

“Where are they?” I groaned coming into the main bar, “I’m starving!”

“They only left a half hour ago,” Jo rolled her eyes, barely looking up from the Deer Hunter game.

 “Jojo, it’s a diner,” Aiden scoffed. “They’re supposed to be quick and efficient, which means that a half hour is fifteen minutes too many.”

“What do you want to do?” Jo retorted. “Go there and make sure they made the order?”

Aiden and I shared a look before standing up.

“Are you guys serious?” Jo gaped, putting down the toy shotgun. “I was kidding!”

“If you’re so opposed maybe you should come with us,” Aiden suggested.

“Fine,” Jo huffed.

It was a fast drive to the closest diner. I saw the truck that was normally outside the roadhouse parked in one of the spots. I parked next to it moving quickly into the diner. As I moved into the diner, I froze both Jo and Aiden ran into my back, but I shot an arm out, keeping them behind me. Immediately all three of us were on edge. I pulled out my gun, which prompted Aiden to do the same. I felt him pull Jo behind him, protectively.

I saw a man whose entire upper body was draped across the table. It would seem normal until you saw his slit throat and blood stretching out of the table. Everyone in the diner was dead: the cooks, a random waitress, and a few customers. Hailey and Sam were nowhere in sight. I walked through the back and spotted the back door I opened it and peered out back. There was nothing there when I removed my hand I noticed residue on the lining of the door’s window: sulfur.

“Aiden!” I called.

“What is it?” Aiden asked.

“Sulfur?” I frowned.

“Hails and Sammy are gone?” Jo questioned.

“Yeah looks like,” I grumbled. “It had a to be a demon.”

“The demon?” Aiden gulped.

“I don’t know,” I growled. “Come on we’re going back to the roadhouse. Aiden call Bobby. Jo, tell your mom what’s going on and to notify all the hunters. I think that whatever the yellow-eyed demon’s planning…it’s starting now.”


	20. All Hell Breaks Loose

 

**Hailey’s Point of View**

“Hey!” Someone shouted shaking my shoulder as I began to wake up. The first thing I realized was that I had a headache from hell and the second thing was that I had no idea where I was. With a jolt, I remembered the last thing I had smelled was sulfur, a sure sign that demons were around. I immediately jumped to my feet, shoving the hand back.

“Where the hell am I?” I demanded.

There were at least eight people standing in a semi-circle, everyone was regarding each other with caution.

 “Middle of nowhere,” A different voice growled.

“And how did we get here?” I sighed as I stood shakily on my feet.

“Who knows?” A boy with dark auburn hair and bright blue eyes. He was tall and looked seriously displeased with the situation.

“Has anyone seen my brother?” I asked.

“Nope, it’s only us,” A girl with blond hair and green eyes said.

“What are we even doing here?” The boy from before grumbled. “I was asleep in Phoenix and then I wake up here?”

“I was ordering dinner,” I shrugged.

“What the fuck?” The girl grumbled.

“Wild guess you’re all eighteen?” I suggested around at my surroundings. Nothing looked familiar. Fucking hell.

“Yeah,” The eight people said suspiciously.

“I figured,” I sighed. “We all are and we all have abilities.”

Everyone looked suddenly uneasy as we all regarded each other with barely masked distrust.

“I’m Hailey Winchester,” I introduced. “I’m telekinetic it started nearly a year ago.”

“Same here,” A black haired girl exclaimed. “I didn’t even think it was possible but one day I got so angry at my stepfather, he was hitting my mother, and suddenly he couldn’t breathe. He suffocated and no one could figure out why. I’m Rowan Hanley.”

“I’m Eric Ross,” A boy with dark brown hair and clear blue eyes. “I can control water, hydrokinetic. It just happened one day.”

“My name is Abby Chase and I’m an elemental,” The blond girl from before shrugging. “I can control anything really or at least anything I ever tried to.”

“I can cause pain without touching someone,” The boy with auburn hair said. “Plant ideas that a person is in unbearable pain inside their minds. My name is David Sinclair.”

The rest of the names and abilities blurred together. Tucker Randall had electrokinesis, an ability to control anything electric. He was nearly as tall as Aiden, he had black nearly blue hair and dark brown eyes. There was Connor Malone who had dyed bright blue hair and silver eyes, he had the ability to control anything that was metal, molding it into anything he wanted. The last two girls was Bella Gates, who had the build of a pixie with spiky brown hair and grey eyes, she had the ability to scream. That might not have sounded like much but she demonstrated. Her scream was sonic, destroying nearly anything glasslike it the area where we were standing around along with my hearing. The last girl was Lucy Mackenzie had red hair and hazel eyes she was a medium and when she told us she looked at me sadly. My heart clenched I knew immediately that she knew exactly how much I had lost within eighteen years of life and god was it depressing.

“Great,” David sneered. “Now that we’ve all gotten to know each other and established that we’re all freaks, what the fuck are we doing here?”

“How are we supposed to know?” Abby retorted.

“Who brought us here?” Lucy asked

“It’s not really a who,” I grimaced.

“The fuck does that mean?” Rowan demanded.

“It’s a demon,” I cringed, feeling uncomfortable despite knowing that there was no other reason why nine psychics were suddenly all together. Whatever Azazel was planning, it was starting now.

**Sam’s Point of View**

It wasn’t often where I woke up having no idea how I got there, and maybe that was why this was so disorienting. I wasn’t in Nebraska anymore, that I knew for certain. I woke up in the middle of a street, abandoned buildings dotted the street. This place felt ancient like it hadn’t been touched for ages. I got to my feet walking slowly around to get my bearings. Which was far more difficult when it seemed that I had woken up in a ghost town.

Just when I thought I was alone I heard a creaking noise coming from the other side of the building I flattened myself against the wall as I grabbed a plank of wood. When the person turned the corner I lunged, pulling back when the person cowered.

“Hey!” The man exclaimed. “What the hell, dude?”

“Who are you?”

“I could ask you the same thing, man! What the fuck am I doing here?”

“What’s your name?”

“Andy,” The man answered still looking completely freaked. He was wearing a silk bathrobe and a ratty tee shirt and pajama pants.

“Hi, Andy, I’m Sam.”

“What am I doing here?!”

“I don’t know.”

“Where are we?”

“Andy, you need to calm down.”

“I can’t calm down!” Andy retorted. “I just woke up in friggin frontier land!”

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Honestly?” Andy muttered. “My fourth bong load. It was weird. All of a sudden, there was this really intense smell. Like, uh…”

“Like sulfur?”.

“How did you know that

“Because I smelled sulfur before I woke up here,” I mumbled and then realized. “Hailey.”

“Who?”

“My sister. Have you seen her? She had long light brownish blonde hair, big blue eyes. She’s tiny?”

“No, man,” Andy said. “I haven’t, I’m sorry.”

Suddenly I heard one sharp almost painful scream. Andy and I covered our ears and then just as quickly as it started it stopped. Within the silence, there was a different scream. A woman screaming in the distance. I began to run towards it with Andy following close at my heels.

“Help me!” A woman screamed. “Oh, god, help me!”

“Okay, I’m here,” I soothed. “We’re gonna get you out all right? Just hold on a second.”

“Please!” The woman pleaded.

I picked up a rock and began to smash the lock until the lock fell open. I pulled the lock off and opened the latch. The person who stepped out wasn’t who I was expecting. It was Ava Wilson the psychic who came to warn me that Gordon Walker was going to kill me a few weeks ago. Dean and I had gone to check on her before we got Hailey and when we got to Ava’s house there was no one in sight except for Ava’s fiancé’s dead body. She had been missing for a while.

“Ava?” I whispered.

“Oh, my god! Sam!” Ava sobbed lunging at me and hugging me tightly.

“So, I guess you guys know each other,” Andy murmured squirming uncomfortably.

“Yeah,” I nodded.

“How did you-I mean, how did you-” Ava tried to question.

“Ava, have you been there this whole time?” I frowned.

“What whole time?” Ava asked. “I just woke up in there, like, half an hour ago.”

“Well, you’ve been gone for nearly a month,” I responded. “My brother and I have been looking for you.”

“Okay, that’s impossible because I saw you two days ago,” Ava shook her head.

“You didn’t,” I corrected, “I’m sorry.”

“But…that makes no sense,” Ava whimpered. “That’s not, oh my god! My fiancée, Brady! If I’ve been missing for that long, he must be freaking out!”

“Well,” I grimaced now uncomfortable. This was awkward. How do you tell someone that you saw their fiancée dead in a pool of blood? While I was contemplating Ava noticed Andy and looked at him in confusion.

“Hey,” Andy waved. “Andy, also freaking out.”

“Okay,” Ava nodded before addressing me, “what’s happening?”

“I don’t really know yet. But I know one thing: I know what the three of us have in common.”

It was then I heard a man screaming, “Hello? Is anybody there?”

“Maybe more than three,” I mused beginning to walk towards the new voice.

There were behind a side of another building, there was two of them. One was an African American man wearing army fatigues and a ghostly pale blonde girl wearing all black.

“Hey!” I called. “Hey, you guys all right?”

“I think so.”

“I’m Sam,” I introduced.

“Jake,” The man replied.

“Lily,” The girl responded.

“Are there any more of you?” I asked curiously.

“No,” Jake said.

“How did we even get here?” Lily demanded. “A minute ago, I was in San Diego.”

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I went to sleep last night in Afghanistan,” Jake frowned.

“Let me take a wild guess: you two are both twenty-four? We all are and we all have abilities,” Sam stated.

“What?” Jake asked.

“It started a little while ago. You found you could do things? Things you didn’t think were possible?” When they nodded I continued, “I have visions: I see things before they happen.”

“Yeah, me, too,” Ava said.

“I can put thoughts into people’s heads,” Andy smiled. “Like, make them do stuff. But don’t worry. I don’t think it works on you guys. Oh, but get this, I’ve been practicing, training my brain, like meditation. So now, it’s not just thoughts I can beam out, but images, too. Like, anything I want. Bam! People see it. This one guy I know, a total dick, right? I used it on him: gay porn. All hours of the day. It was just like, you should’ve seen the look on his face!”

I looked at Andy in confusion while the other three people seemed to be completely horrified.

“Uh…okay,” Andy muttered.

“So, you go, “Simon says give me your wallet”, and they do?” Lily hissed before turning to me, “you have visions? That’s great! I’d kill for something like that.”

“Lily, listen, it’s okay,” I soothed.

“No, it’s not!” Lily yelled. “I touch people? Their heart stops! I can barely leave my house. My life has not exactly improved. So, screw you. I just wanna go home.”

“And what, we don’t?” Jake hissed.

“You know what?” Lily snapped rounding on Jake, “Don’t talk to me like that…”

“Hey, guys, please,” I frowned. “Look, whether we like it or not, we’re all here, and so we all have to deal with this.”

“Who brought us here?” Andy asked.

“It’s not exactly a who,” I grimaced. “It’s more of a what, really.”

“What does that mean?” Ava demanded.

“A demon,” I said. “A demon brought us here.”

**Dean’s Point of View**

“You’re telling me that Hailey and Sam just disappeared?” Ellen demanded. “And there was sulfur in the diner.”

“Everyone was dead too, mom,” Jo said.

“This is terrific,” Ellen sighed.

“What did I miss?” Bobby asked coming into the Roadhouse.

What had he missed? Well, he missed Hailey and Sam being taken by the demon or maybe demons. He missed me and Aiden freaking out as we tore the entire town apart before we realized that they weren’t in Nebraska. He had missed us frantically calling every single hunter we knew so that everyone was on call and ready to go.

“Nothing,” I said.

“Well, I have something,” Bobby replied walking to the counter and laying a map on the table for Ellen, Jo, Aiden, and I to see.

“What’s this?” Aiden asked.

“This is it,” Bobby said. “All the demonic signs and omens over the past month.”

“Are you joking?” I growled. “There’s nothing here.”

“Exactly,” Bobby said.

“Come on,” I groaned. “There’s gotta be something. What about the normal, low-level stuff? You know, exorcism, that kind of thing?”

“That’s what I’m telling you: there’s nothing it’s completely quiet,” Bobby said.

“How are we supposed to find them, Bobby?” Aiden demanded. “What, do we just close our eyes and point?”

“Watch that tone with me, boy,” Bobby warned.

“Sorry,” Aiden sighed. “I’m just worried.”

“We all are, baby,” Ellen soothed. “But we’re going to find them.”

“Ash, do you have anything?” I asked.

“It’s a big nugatory on Sam and Hailey,” Ash said.

“Come on, man!” I growled. “You’ve gotta give us something. We’re looking at a three thousand mile haystack here.”

“Well there’s one thing and it will definitely help us find them,” Ash said typing a few things out on his laptop.

Ash got up taking a map of Wyoming with him. He too spread it on the table and marked five different spots with Xs.

“Wyoming?” I asked. “What does that mean?”

“Hold on,” Bobby said, picking up one of his books and beginning to read it.

“What?” Aiden asked when Bobby looked surprised, “You got something?”

“It’s a lot more than that,” Bobby said. “Each of these X’s is an abandoned frontier church, all of them mid 19th century and all of them built by Samuel Colt.”

“Samuel Colt?” I asked. “The demon killing gun making Samuel Colt?”

“Yep,” Bobby nodded.

“There’s more,” Ash said. “Colt built private railway lines connecting church to church. They just so happen to lay out like this-”

Ash took his pen and connected each church when he was done we were all staring at Devil’s trap.

“What?” I muttered.

“It’s a Devil’s trap,” Aiden gaped. “A hundred square mile one.”

“That’s brilliant,” I mused. “Iron lines, the demons can’t cross.”

“I haven’t heard of anything that massive,” Ellen gaped

“No one has,” Bobby said.

“And after all these years none of the lines are broken?” I questioned. “They still work?”

“Maybe,” Aiden shrugged. “How is this supposed to help us find Hailey and Sam?”

**Hailey’s Point of View**

After the demon bombshell, we all quickly decided that we should scout the town for supplies. We passed by a well with a huge bell with an engraving of an oak tree on it. I stopped and looked at it for a moment because I had already found candles and flint, so my task was done. I had seen that bell before but where? It was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t think of it. Before I was ever really involved in the family business, I read a lot of urban legends, along with the bits of Dad’s journal that he allowed me to read. I had also been allowed to read most of the books in Bobby’s collection. I knew a lot of random things and I was currently smack dab in the middle of one. One with a bell, with an engraving of a tree. It was infuriating how I knew what it was but I couldn’t remember the name. Not that it mattered, regardless of whether or not I knew where I was, I still stuck here.

“Hailey, are you okay?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I know where we are.”

“Where?”

“I don’t remember. It’s an old town with a bell…”

“Cold Oak,” Lucy stated.

When I turned to look at her in confusion she shrugged. “I see spirits. They talk to me. One of them just told me where we were.”

 “How did you know?” I asked.

“That I was a medium?” Lucy said. “Well, my mom died when I was little and I saw her a few months ago saying that she was sorry, that she never meant for this to happen. I had no idea what she was talking about. After my mom, I kept seeing people. They’re everywhere, not use to being seen, so they tend to flock to me. Trevor misses you, by the way. I’m sorry for your loss.”

Do you see anyone else by me?”

“I just see Trevor,” Lucy said. “I’m sorry.”

“Honestly, I should be used to it by now.”

“How do you know about all this stuff?”

“My mother died when I was six months old, my dad said he found her pinned to the ceiling and then a fire,” I murmured. “He got us all out of there and my dad was messed up. He was drinking a lot, scarred by what he had seen. He saw a local psychic and discovered what really lurked in the dark. He learned how to kill them, anything remotely evil. Soon, he taught my brothers and me. It’s the family business.”

“Jesus,” Lucy hissed.

“Yeah, and a few months ago my dad died,” I sighed. “It was the same thing that had killed our mother and my boyfriend died four days ago.”

Lucy looked really sympathetic and I didn’t even feel defensive. She was sad because of my losses. We may have just met but when she hugged me it didn’t feel any different from when I hugged Natasha or Jo.

“Guys, I found some salt!” Abby yelled.

“I have iron!” Tucker called back.

“I found an empty place for us to crash!” Rowan shouted.

“Looks like we better regroup,” I sighed.

Five minutes later the salt was laid out around one room of the apartment we had found. We had enough iron to make weapons for everyone as well as candles to burn when the sun began to go down.

“What now?”

“Screw this,” Connor sneered. “I don’t feel like camping. I’m going home.”

“The demon’s not going to let us just walk away,” I responded.

“I don’t see it,” Connor snapped. “What’s it so afraid since it won’t show it's face?”

“You’ve never even seen a demon why don’t you just trust what I say when I tell you that you’re not going to get out of here alive,”

“You threatening me, Winchester?” Connor hissed.

“I’m stating the fact,” I retorted.

I cursed the fact that I was so vertically challenged because when I stood nose to nose with Connor he loomed over me and it just pissed me off.

“You want to get yourself, fine,” I snapped. “I know I’m right.”

“Go fuck yourself,” Connor sneered.

He stalked out of the apartment. The remaining people looked at me wide-eyed and I sat down. He’ll come back this entire area’s abandoned and it’s getting dark. Or at least that’s what I thought, at first. When he didn’t come back nearly three hours later. We got worried. We split up to search for him when someone began screaming. Immediately I ran towards the source of the screaming and gasped. Connor was splayed on the ground his chest was ripped open; ribs sticking out, his face was frozen in terror.

“We need to get back inside,” I whispered. “We’re not safe out here.”

“No, we’re not safe anywhere,” Rowan said. “We weren’t brought here to hang out with each other. We’re supposed to kill each other. The last person left wins.”

“Who told you this?” I asked.

“The yellow man,” Rowan said.

“He told me the same thing,” Tucker said.

“Me too,” David, Eric, and Bella said at the same time.

“You see,” Bella stated smirking, “Eric, David, and I are the reigning champs. I’m second in command and they’re directly under me. People keep showing up in batches.”

“We kill them,” Eric shrugged.

“Did you kill Connor?” I asked.

“Well, I did,” Eric said. “You wouldn’t believe what Connor would do to escape the kind of pain I was inflicting.”

“Our abilities aren’t supposed to work on each other,” I whispered.

“No they don’t work on the older generation,” Bella corrected. “It works on each other just fine.”

Suddenly Lucy fell to the ground screaming a blood-curdling scream. Eric was staring at her in concentration. Suddenly Tucker was grasping at his neck as Rowan looked at him. David was attempting to drown Abby in the lake and Bella rounded on me. That sonic scream made it hard to think. That screaming was all I could hear and feel. I was screaming and Bella was screaming until I twisted my hand; Bella collapsed into a boneless heap. Her neck was twisted in a horrible angle and I’d feel bad if she wasn’t trying to kill me. I wiped the blood from where it had begun to leak out of my ears as I turned to the war zone. Tucker too down for the count while Rowan had just killed David.

People left Abby on the ground thinking that she was dead, but she was still breathing. When people moved away from her, she got up knocking Eric’s attention off of Lucy who was still screaming.  When Eric turned on Abby, she reacted quickly fire coming out of nowhere, scorching Eric instantly. No matter how much Eric rolled he couldn’t put the fire out. When he was still Abby waved her hand looking disgusted with herself. Lucy looked at Abby and they both nodded smiling at each other. I realized that we were the last three left standing. Then everything went black.

**Sam’s Point of View**

After dropping the demon bomb on Lily, Jake, Ava, and Andy, their reactions left a lot to be desired. Honestly, how did they think they got their abilities in the first place?

We were looking for supplies so that we could stay the night and remain protected from anything this town could throw at us. A demon had already tried to kill Jake. The demon was an Acheri, who normally disguises itself as a little girl. If I hadn’t gotten there in time Jake would’ve been ripped to shreds. After that, at least they had no trouble believing in the supernatural.

While Ava, Andy, and Jake came around, Lily was still being difficult maintaining that she was the only one who had suffered. We were wandering around the town when I found a knife on the ground. I picked it up and turned to Ava who was messaging her temples.

“Hey, are you all right?” I asked.

“Yeah, I’m just a little dizzy,” Ava replied.

“Are you sure it’s not some kind of…”

“What?” Ava scoffed. “Some kind of freaky vision thing? No, more, like I’d kill for a sandwich, I haven’t eaten since, well, who knows? No, don’t worry, I’m fine. Except for every single thing that’s happening.”

“Guys!” Andy shouted. “I found something!”

We all walked to where Andy was. He was holding up two bags looking incredibly pleased with himself.

“Salt!” Andy smirked.

“That’s great, Andy,” I smiled. “Now, we all can…where’s Lily?”

“Lily?” Ava called.

“Lily!” I shouted.

When I began to hear a little girl giggling, the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. It was the same giggling that we had heard when the Acheri had attacked Jake. We ran outside trying to find Lily before the Acheri did. My eyes widened as I saw Lily on the top of the water tower with a noose around her neck, dead.

“Oh, my god!” Ava gasped. “Okay, that’s officially... Sam, she’s dead! She’s dead! You said we were chosen for a reason! That’s not chosen! That’s killed! Okay, we have to get out of here.”

“Stop,” I ordered.

“Yeah, I second that emotion,” Andy stated.

“I’m not sure that’s an option,” Jake disagreed.

“What?” Ava demanded.

“Lily was trying to leave,” I explained. “The demon’s not gonna let us get away that easy. We’ve gotta gear up for the next attack.”

“Gear up?” Ava repeated.

“Yeah,” I nodded.

“Okay, well, I’m not a soldier!” Ava snapped. “I can’t do that!”

“Well, if you wanna stay alive, you’re gonna have to. Let’s go,” I growled.

“I’ll get her down,” Jake said, gesturing toward Lily’s corpse.

“You know,” I sighed looking towards Andy as Ava stalked away and Jake went to get Lily down, “I was just thinking how much Dean would help right now. I’d give my arm for a working phone.”

“You know, you may not need one,” Andy mused. “I’ve never tried it long-distance before, but do you have anything of Dean’s on you? Like, something he touched?”

“Uh, I gotta receipt,” I said after searching my pockets, “Would that work?”

“Yeah,” Andy smiled taking the receipt from my hand he glanced at the signature and looked at me smirking, “D. Hasselhoff?”

“Yeah, that’s Dean’s signature,” I flushed. “It’s, uh, hard to explain.”

“Okay then,” Andy snickered before focusing on the receipt. I just hoped it worked because at this present moment the person I needed wasn’t here.

**Aiden’s Point of View**

We were all at a complete loss and that was what was most frustrating. Ash and Bobby were working together. Natasha had come a few hours ago but she too was having problems locating Sam and Hailey. She said there was a block or something and she was trying everything she knew to work around it. It had been hours stuck in the roadhouse and no one had been able to make a move. We wanted to find Sam and Hailey before going to Wyoming because right now there was only one item of the agenda. When someone even mentioned Wyoming, Dean sent a darkest glare I had ever seen at the person in question before walking back over to Ash and Bobby.

“We’re going to find them,” Bobby said. “You need to calm down, Dean. You’re not helping anyone working yourself up like this.”

It looked like Dean was going to retort but instead, he clutched his head in pain. I rushed over as everyone looked over.

“Dean?” I whispered.

Dean was groaning, doubling over in pain. When he straightened back up he looked past me to Bobby.

“What was that?” Bobby asked.

“I don’t know,” Dean mumbled. “A headache?”

“You get headaches like that a lot?” Bobby questioned.

“No,” Dean chuckled, “must be the stress. I could’ve sworn I saw something.”

“Like a vision?” I asked.

“What?” Dean scoffed. “No!”

“It’s a decent point,” Bobby shrugged.

“Come on, I’m not some psychic,” Dean retorted.

That may have been true but that didn’t matter when Dean gasped and slumped forward in pain again. This time it got Natasha’s attention, moving closer to Dean and placing her hand on his forehead. When Dean straightened back up both Ellen and Natasha forced Dean into a seat while Ellen brought Dean a glass of water.

“You with us?” Natasha asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Dean winced. “I saw Sam. I saw him.”

“It was a vision,” Bobby nodded.

“Yeah, I don’t know how, but yeah,” Dean shook his head. “Whew, that was about as much fun as getting kicked in the jewels.”

“What else did you see?” I asked.

“There was a bell?” Dean muttered.

“What kind of bell?” Bobby questioned.

“Like a big bell with some kind of engraving on it, I don’t know,” Dean shrugged drinking some of the water.

“Engraving?” Bobby repeated.

‘Yeah,” Dean said.

“Was it a tree?” Bobby queried, “Like an oak tree?”

“Exactly,” Dean replied.

“I know where Sam is,” Bobby said.

“Where?” Dean and I demanded instantly.

“Cold Oak, South Dakota,” Bobby stated.

“Alright, let’s go!” Dean ordered.

“Wait,” I called.

Everyone turned to look at me in confusion looking between Dean and me, until Dean turned to look at me. That was all the invitation I was going to get.

“You brought us maps for Wyoming but Sam’s in South Dakota?” I wondered. “They’re seven hours apart. What does one have to do with the other? It has to be connected.”

“Who cares,” Dean growled. “We know where Sam is, we’re going.”

“We’re going in blind,” I warned.

“Ads, has a point, Dean,” Bobby said.

“This is what we’re going to do,” Dean said. “Bobby, Natasha, Aiden, and I are going to Cold Oak, you all stay back and figure out how it’s all connected. Call if you find anything?”

“You got it,” Ellen nodded.

“Be careful,” Dean said.

“You too.”

**Sam’s Point of View**

I was so glad that we had found an open apartment that had a table as well as a few chairs. It was really cold and we barely had a fire, only having enough for a few candles. It had been a long day and I was struggling to stay awake, my eyes shutting on their own accord. When I snapped my eyes open, there was someone behind Jake, someone with yellow eyes.

“Jake!” I shouted. “Behind you!”

“Howdy, Sam,” Azazel smirked.

“I’m dreaming.”

“What do you say you and I take a little walk?”

What other choice did I have? I got up and followed after Azazel as he led me outside.

“You’re awfully quiet, Sam,” Azazel smirked. “You’re not mad at me, are you?”

“I’m going to tear you to shreds, I swear to…”

“When you wake up, tiger, you give it your best shot.”

“Where are my brothers and sister?” I growled.

“Worry about yourself.”

“Why?” I sneered. “You gonna kill me?”

“I’m trying to help you, that’s why we’re talking. You’re the one I’m rooting for.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked. We had been walking but I stopped prompting Azazel to stop too.

“Welcome to the Miss America pageant,” Azazel smiled holding out his hands, “Why do you think you’re here? This is a competition. Only one of you crazy kids is gonna make it out of here alive.”

“I thought we were supposed to be…”

“Soldiers in a coming war? That’s true. You are. But here’s the thing. I don’t need soldiers. I need a soldier. I just need the one.”

“Why?” I hissed.

“Well, I couldn’t just come out and say that, could I, Sam?” Azazel asked. “I had to let everyone think they had a fighting chance. What I need is a leader.”

“To lead who?” I asked.

“Oh, I’ve already got my army, or I will soon enough.”

“You son of a bitch.”

“That’s not nice, Sam,” Azazel scolded. “Honestly, I’m surprised you hadn’t guessed. Didn’t you look for some of the others? They were already dead, so many flamed out already. They weren’t strong enough. I’m looking for the best and brightest of your generation.”

“My generation?”

“Did you think you and Hailey were the only ones?” Azazel laughed. “That’s cute. Nope, you have your pageant and Hailey’s had hers. There were others too, but they weren’t strong either. But, you and Hailey are my favorites. You’re tough, you’re smart, and you’re well trained, thanks to our daddy. Sam, Sammy, you’re my favorite.”

“Where’s my sister?” I hissed.

“She’s here,” Azazel shrugged. “In this town. She won her fight, she’s fine.”

“I’m not doing anything for you,” I spat. “You ruined my life. You killed my parents.”

“Cost of doing business, I’m afraid.”

“Why would you kill my mom?” I demanded.

“That was bad luck,” Azazel frowned. “She walked in on your sister and I. Wrong place, wrong time.”

“What does that mean?”

“It wasn’t about her,” Azazel replied. “It was about you and Hailey. It’s always been about you two.”

“What?”

“Well, okay,” Azazel muttered. “You caught me in a charitable mood. I’ll show you.”

I flinched when Azazel snapped his fingers and suddenly we were in the old house in Lawrence. The walls were a light yellow, we were in Hailey’s nursery.

“Look familiar?”

I gasped as I saw someone staring over my sister’s crib. It was Azazel from all those years ago. I moved to attack when the present Azazel grabbed me.

“Relax, Sam. This is just a hi-def instant replay. Enjoy the show.”

I glared at Azazel but was distracted when I saw my mother walking into Hailey’s nursery.

“John?” Mom yawned.

“Mom!” I shouted.

“Is she hungry?” Mom asked.

“Shhh,” The past Azazel whispered.

“Okay,” Mom shrugged walking out of the room.

“Wait, Mom!” I shouted. “Mom!”

“What did I just tell you, Sam?” Azazel growled. “She can’t hear you, this isn’t real.”

I watched horrified as Azazel leaned further over Hailey’s crib. He cut his wrist with his nail and blood began to drip into Hailey’s mouth.

“What the hell are you doing to her?”

“Better than mother’s milk. Don’t feel bad, Sammy, you have it too.”

“Does that mean I have demon blood in me?” I seethed and became irate when Azazel just laughed. “Answer me!”

I was surprised when my mother rushed back in. The past Azazel turned revealing his colored eyes.

“It’s you,” Mom snarled.

“She knew you,” I gasped.

Mom tried to get closer, but Azazel slammed her against the wall. She began to slide up the wall whimpering in pain.

“No!” I screamed. “No!”

“I don’t think you wanna see the rest of this,” Azazel mused.

Azazel snapped his fingers and the nursery disappeared and I jolted awake in the abandoned house in South Dakota.

“What’s going on?” I asked as Jake and Andy looked worried.

“Ava’s missing,” Jake groaned. “Okay, I’ll take the barn and the hotel. Sam, you take the houses. Andy stay here.”

“Okay, we’ll meet back here in ten minutes, okay?” I said.

“Alright,” Andy nodded.

I tore off looking for Ava through the abandoned houses vaguely wondering if Hailey was holed up in one of them. I heard movement in one of the houses and moved to go into it when a sudden scream ripped through the quiet. I raced back to the house stumbling into the house to see Ava looking disgusted.

“Sam!” Ava sniffled pointing at Andy’s body, which was ripped to shreds. “I just found him like this!”

“What happened?”

“I don’t know!”

“How’d that thing get in?” I demanded. “Where were you?”

“I just went to get some water from the well” Ava sniffed. “I was only gone, maybe, like, two minutes!”

“You shouldn’t have gone outside,” I scolded. “Ava, we have to stay in here.” I then noticed a break in the salt line on the window sill, “Who did that?”

“I don’t know, maybe Andy.”

“Andy wouldn’t do that,” I stated. “That salt line wasn’t broken when I left, Ava.”

“What am I trying to say?”

“What happened to you?”

“Nothing!”

I stared her down and before my eyes, she morphed. She was no longer the spacey girl I had met all those weeks ago. I don’t know what she was now, but I didn’t like it. I instantly knew that this woman was a threat.

“Had you going though, didn’t I?” Ava laughed wiping her eyes. “Yeah, I’ve been here a while. And not alone, either. People just keep showing up. Children, like us. Batches of three or four at a time.”

“You killed them?” I demanded. “All of them?”

“I’m the undefeated heavyweight champ.”

“Oh, my god.”

“Don’t think God has much to do with this.”

“How could you?”

“I had no choice,” Ava retorted. “It was me or them. After a while, it was easy. It was even kind of fun. I just stopped fighting it.”

“Fighting what?”

“Who we are, Sam,” Ava sighed. “If you quit your hand-wringing and open yourself up, you have no idea what you can do. The learning curve is so fast, it’s crazy, the switches that just flip in your brain. I can’t believe I started out just having dreams. Do you know what I can do now?”

“Control demons.”

“Ah, you’re quick on the draw,” Ava smirked putting her hands to her head, “Yeah, I’m sorry, Sam. But it’s over.”

The demon began to form outside the window, a black cloud worming its way through the break in the salt line. Just as it was about to come in I saw Jake standing behind her. He grabbed Ava and twisted her neck. I heard the snap of bone and the smoke disappeared. I moved walking outside. Jake followed after me but at this moment the only thought on my mind was getting out of here and finding Hailey. With the Acheri no longer being controlled, it had no reason to stay around. We’d hike to the nearest town and call Dean.

**Hailey’s Point of View**

Waking up with a headache was something that I was becoming achingly familiar with. I groaned as I rose shakily to my feet. I rocked to my feet and ran out of the house that I had found myself in. I knew that Sam had to be here. Where else would he be? I was running around the in the area by the bell and then I sprinted past the bell towards the stables. I saw Sam stumbling away from someone. He was cradling his right arm, close to his chest, clearly hurt.

“Sammy!” I shouted.

“Hails!” Sam said.

A person rose from the muck behind Sam, grabbing a knife. Sam must have been more hurt than I initially thought because he didn’t register the person behind him getting up.

“Sammy, look out!” I screamed.

He turned a moment too late and the knife lodged in his back. I screamed as the knife made contact and suddenly Jake went soaring away, smacking hard into the ground. I ran towards Sam as he slumped to his knees.

“Oh, god, Sammy!” I sobbed running to his side.

His body was heavy, leaning on mine and tears were pouring out of my eyes as I gently touched the wound. Blood coated my hand and I whimpered. I had to calm down, losing my shit wasn’t going to help Sam.

“It’s going to be okay, Sammy. It isn’t even that bad.”

It was that bad, though. Sam was literally dying in my arms and Jake was slowly crawling away. No, this couldn’t be happening, Sam couldn’t die. Not now, not after all of this. I let out a low mournful scream. I was losing everyone I loved. Sam, Trevor, Dad, and my mother it was too much, I felt something crack as Sam’s body went completely limp.

“No,” I screamed. “No!”

Sam couldn’t hear me, and I doubt anyone could and then I heard it. People talking in the distance and it wasn’t Abby or Lucy. It was my brothers. I continued to sob when a sudden voice filled my mind.

“If you don’t want those useless brothers of yours to die, I’d get up and follow in the direction Jake was going,” Azazel ordered. “Now, Hailey.”

“Sam!” Dean shouted his voice echoing off the buildings, “Sammy!”

“Go, Hailey or I’ll make sure Dean and Aiden live long enough to know what they’re hearts taste like,” Azazel threatened.

I stumbled up and away from Sam, sobbing as I ran in the direction that Jake had crawled. Tears never stopped streaming to eyes as I ran faster than I ever thought I could. That was all I was right now, a movement. I couldn’t think, couldn’t feel, with the exception of my sneakers echoing in the distance and the burn of my muscles working. Mom, Dad, Trevor, and now Sam. Who would be next? All I knew was this demon had to die before I had no one left. The first person I was going to make sure felt as much pain as possible was this Jake person. Sam had spared his life and I wasn’t about to make the same mistake.


	21. Damages Done

 

**Dean’s Point of View**

“Sam!” I shouted, “Sammy!”

“Sam!” Natasha and Aiden called.

“God damn it, Sam,” I fumed. “Answer us!”

“Oh, no,” Bobby hissed.

My brows knitted together as I followed Bobby’s stricken gaze. There was a crumbled form a few yards away from us. I had been able to sense my brother my entire life and I knew who it was instantly.

“Sammy!” I screamed breaking into a dead sprint.

Aiden and Natasha were at my heels as I dropped to my knees grabbing Sam off the ground. His head was lolling to the side and his body was limp. I maneuvered Sam so that his head was on my shoulder as I looked for an injury. When my hand landed in the middle of Sam’s back and it came back wet, blood coated my entire hand, my heart clenched before dropping straight into my stomach.

“No,” Aiden gasped falling to his knees beside me. “Oh, god, no. Sammy, please, wake up.”

“Look at me,” I hissed sharply grabbing the front of Aiden’s sweatshirt and dragged him towards me. “We’re going to fix this. It’s not even that bad.”

“He was stabbed in the back,” Aiden yelled. “We can’t fix this, Dean!”

“Shut up, Aiden,” I growled.

“No, Dean!” Aiden screamed his eyes were wild and he was verging on hysterics as tears streamed freely down his face. “You’re fucking delusional if you think we can fix this. That you can make this better. Sam’s ice cold, Dean!”

It happened in an instant I didn’t even realize what had happened. Aiden’s head snapped to the side, a brilliant red mark blooming on his right cheek, Natasha gasped, and Aiden looked at me with betrayed and tearful hazel green eyes. He sat back on his haunches and stared at Sam’s body, which hadn’t reacted in the fight. I couldn’t believe it. Sam was gone.

“Dean,” Bobby whispered his eyes were moist as tears threatened to fall, “we should get him out of here.”

Natasha had wandered further down the road, seemingly gazing at nothing. Her eyes were clouded over, her hands were extended reading the area. She stopped short with a flinch, “Oh, no.”

“What’s wrong?” Aiden asked.

“Hailey,” Natasha hissed.

My brain had been foggy since I had found Sam. He was the only one on my mind, but my sister’s name was like ice water to the face and instantly I remembered that we had found Sam, but Hailey was still MIA.

“Where is she?” I demanded.

“She was here,” Natasha stated her eyes glazed as she linked with Hailey, “She was here when Sam died, tried to help and saw who did it.”

“Where is she now?” Aiden growled.

“Following Sam’s murderer,” Natasha said. “We have to find her before she does something she regrets.”

“You’re implying that she’s going to regret killing the person that murdered our brother?” Aiden snapped.

“No, Ads,” Natasha retorted coming out of her stupor,” I’m implying that your sister is the least violent person I know until she loses control. She nearly cut someone’s balls off in the Roadhouse after they hit her three weeks after your father died. What do you think she’s capable of when the boy she loved, and her older brother died within the space of a week?”

**Hailey’s Point of View**

I was still running. I didn’t even know how it was possible, but I was running, faster than I ever thought I could. I ran as if my life depended on it, but it was really only my sanity. As long as my feet hit the concrete and my lungs burned; it gave me something else to focus on because lurking just under the surface was insurmountable grief. Losing my parents was one thing, I barely remembered my mother and I never truly associated my father of being what he was supposed to be. His death left a hole I wasn’t aware of and it ached every day. But, the hole that Trevor left was bigger, and it mocked me of an attachment that I didn’t even realize went deep down to the bone. It was different now; Sam’s death was too much to bear. It showed me that my brothers weren’t immortal. They were just as fragile as I was. Dean’s accident had shown me that, but Sam’s death hammered the point home. They protected me from anything and everything, but I couldn’t save Sam, my abilities reacted too late and he had paid the price.

Aiden and Dean had found him, I was betting. I wonder how’d they handle all of this, probably no better than me. I had left Sam alone, I had left his body alone. I had run away and I had been running ever since, not stopping or slowing down, sprinting in a direction that I didn’t even know was the right one. There were two thoughts on my mind: the first was finding the person who had killed Sam and the second was putting as much distance between Cold Oak and I as I could.

Sam was gone. I couldn’t believe that Sammy was gone. Did the fates just have to take everyone I loved? Trevor and Sam? My parents. I only had Dean and Aiden and I’d be damned if they got hurt because of me. My curse was not going to affect anyone else I cared about. I wasn’t going to let anyone else get hurt because of me. The last person who would fall in the long line of casualties as a direct result of me would be Jake. After Jake was gone I’d fall off the grid, making sure nothing ever hurt my family again.

It had taken four hours, but I finally tracked Jake down. He had found an abandoned campground. Wood was burning off the fire that Jake had made, and he was fast asleep. I crept closer into the camp, grinning, Sam’s death was about to be avenged. When I got close enough, I shook my hand at the fire extinguishing it in seconds and Jake was startled awake. Unfortunately for him he woke up a moment too late, showing that not even the army could duplicate the sense of a Winchester. I couldn’t sneak up on any of my brothers’ even when they were sleeping.

With a gust of wind, the fire sparked back up and Jake jumped as the fire cast sinister shadows all over my body, turning every move I made into a more threatening form. He gasped when he saw me and immediately struggled to get up. I raised my hand and Jake was slammed back, pinned against the rock by my abilities.

“What the hell?” Jake groaned. “How did you find me?”

“It’s called tracking, short bus,” I sneered. “Names Hailey Winchester. I believe you met my big brother, Sam?”

Recognition and a spark of fear shone in Jake’s eyes and I walked closer to him, circling my prey with unabashed relish.

“Tell me, how did it feel stabbing him in the back like a little coward?” I hissed. “Did they teach you that in the war?”

“Let me go,” Jake growled.

“Oh, is that an order, soldier boy?” I taunted.

“It’s more of a friendly request,” Jake snarled. “Let me go.”

“Why don’t you make me,” I retorted. “Oh, right you can’t.”

I pulled three of my throwing knives out of my pocket. They were serrated and sharp and they were obedient. I did the trick that I had learned with Trevor, dropping the knives. They would’ve fallen to the ground if my abilities hadn’t stepped in, soaring through the air. One made itself comfortable at the hollow of Jake’s throat, the other one went dangerously close to Jake’s pupil and the last one went back into my outstretched hand.

“What are you?” Jake gasped after my little display.

“Don’t you know?” I responded.

“You.” Jake realized. “You’re the girl who threw me thirty feet into the air without even touching me.”

“Oh, Jakey, that’s the least of what I’m going to do to you,” I smirked and before Jake could say a word the knife in my hand slid down his arm, cutting the skin without me even putting pressure on the blade. “You see, Sam didn’t get to beg but I _promise_ you will.”

“You don’t understand.”

“No,” I corrected sharply, the knives by his throat and eye twitching as my tone became dangerously calm, “You’re the one who doesn’t understand. He spared your life and you repaid the favor by killing him. Do you have any honor? Do you have any self-respect?”

“The yellow-eyed demon told me that there can only be one,” Jake exclaimed as two more cuts joined the first one on his arm.

“No, you both could’ve gotten out. But you decided to save your own skin. Look out for number one.”

“And how did you stay alive?”

“I defended myself. You’re the one who attacked without reason. The one who was spineless enough to stab someone in the back.”

“You don’t want to do something you might regret.”

“Regret?” I laughed and then snickered as another knife joined the fray. Only this time it was Jake’s knife, that zoomed out of his pocket and cut his cheek before embedding itself into his chest. “You don’t know the first thing about me or my family.”

“You’re not a killer,” Jake cried, wincing as blood flowed freely from his wounds.

“You’re right, Jake. I wasn’t a killer until this moment. Here’s a little background information. My mother died when I was six months old, my father was barely there for my childhood, but my brothers always were. Sam always was, and you took him away from me. And not only did you kill him spinelessly, you killed my brother four days after my boyfriend was murdered by the very thing you decided to listen too.”

“Hailey…”

“Shut. Up.”

“Well, it looks like you two are getting along splendidly,” A joyful voice laughed. “I’m not interrupting or anything, am I?”

I growled turning on my heel to see Azazel perched on the rock opposite the one that Jake was trapped on. He took in the scene before he looked at me.

“You’re a lot stronger than I gave you credit for, Hails,” Azazel praised. “Look at the control you have over your abilities. Your generation is definitely the strongest, albeit most willful. Put the knives down, Hailey.”

“Or what?” I hissed.

“Or you live long enough to see your brothers die,” Azazel shrugged.

“You touch them, and I’ll kill you both,” I snarled.

“Last chance, Hailey,” Azazel responded.

I huffed as I held out my hands catching the four knives with ease as they came back to me. I pocketed three of them before slamming Jake’s knife back into his wound. He grunted in pain as I slipped down onto the remaining rock.

“Well Jake you’ve certainly got your hands full,” Azazel smirked as he watched as Jake pulled the knife out of his shoulder grimacing all the while.

“You’re leaving me with her?” Jake asked.

“Scared?” I grinned.

“What’s wrong, Jake?” Azazel sneered. “You can fight in Afghanistan, but you can’t handle an unruly eighteen-year-old?”

“Go to hell,” Jake growled.

“Been there,” Azazel smirked. “Done that.”

“Everything you put me through, dragging me to that place making me kill those people…” Jake trailed off staring daggers at Azazel.

“All part of the beauty pageant,” Azazel shrugged, “Jake, I needed the strongest, and that’s you. Congratulations, Jake, you’re the last man standing. The American Idol. I have to admit you weren’t the horse I was betting on, but still, I gotta give it to you.”

“Needed me for what?”

“Oh, I have a laundry list of things you both need to do,” Azazel grinned.

“The only thing I’m going to do is kill you.”

“You know, others have tried, it’s not easy. Trust me, Jake, you wanna be a good little soldier here.”

“And if I’m not?”

“If you’re a bad little soldier, well, that dear old mom of yours, that adorable little sister, I’ll make certain they both live long enough to know the chewy taste of their own intestines,” Azazel stated. “And I’m not bluffing.”

“What do you want us to do?”

“Good doggy,” I muttered rolling my eyes.

**Aiden’s Point of View**

We had decided to get a motel room instead of staying at Bobby’s house. Dean and I hadn’t slept since we had found Sam. Bobby had come with food but it sat untouched as I stared down at Sam’s corpse. His corpse because Sam Winchester, my big brother was gone, and he had destroyed Dean in the process. I had fallen asleep for a few minutes and in that space of time Dean had left in a frenzy screaming, “What am I supposed to do?!” The impala had started up a few minutes later driving erratically out of the parking lot.

“Sam, I’m so sorry,” I whimpered dropping down onto the chair that was placed by his bed, “I never made life easy for you and I’m sorry. You went to Stanford and I followed on your coattails, shared an apartment with you. When you found me taking coke, your reaction was not one I had anticipated. I thought you’d be angry and disappointed, but you understood and didn’t condemn me. You helped me get clean and I shoved it in your face a few months ago and once again you weren’t angry. Nope, Dean was, I had never seen him so angry. I just, we needed you, Sam. I mean, we need you now. You kept Dean in line and without you, what are we gonna do? The entire family will fall apart. I don’t know what to do. Dean is beside himself and Hailey. God, Sammy, we don’t even know where Hailey is if she’s even okay.”

I choked on a sob as I placed my face in my hands. My body was wracked with sobs as I allowed myself to mourn over my brother. The one who I never thought I’d lose. Part of me thought that I should just get used to it. No one ever said that the Winchester family wasn’t cursed. After all the facts spoke for themselves. We had two psychics in the family and people close to us were dropping like flies. I heard a startled pain filled gasp and l squeaked despite myself. Sam who had been dead for two days was suddenly moving. I shot out of the chair and moved away from Sam watching him suspiciously.

“Ads?” Sam groaned.

“Sam?” I gaped.

With slow movements, Sam eased himself out of bed, his hands flying to the wound on his back. He winced stumbling to the mirror and attempting to look at it. I gasped aloud when I saw that the deep cut, severing Sam’s spine was gone, leaving an angry red scar in his wake.

“Ads, what’s wrong?” Sam asked.

“Sammy,” I whispered.

Before Sam could comment further on my weird behavior, I had closed the distance between us and hugged him. Sam groaned at the contact, his muscles had to have been protesting but he reluctantly wrapped his arms around me. The moment was shattered when the door to the motel room slammed open, with Dean rushing inside kicking the door closed as he walked.

“Sammy,” Dean whispered.

“Hey, Dean,” Sam greeted.

His eyes widened in surprise when Dean pulled him into an embrace.

“Ow, uh, Dean?” Sam groaned.

“I’m sorry, man,” Dean grimaced. “I’m just happy to see you up and around, that’s all. Come on, sit down.”

Dean led Sam over to the table where the food was still spread out. Dean sat across from him and then shot me a get-your-ass-over-here look. I trailed obediently over to the table and sat down on the other side of Sam.

“What happened to me?” Sam asked.

“What do you remember?” Dean questioned.

“I saw Hailey,” Sam murmured, “and…I felt this pain. This sharp pain like white-hot, and she screamed out and that’s it.”

“Someone stabbed you in the back,” Dean replied.

“But, Dean, you can’t patch up a wound that bad,” Sam said.

“No, but Bobby could,” Dean stated. “Who did it?”

“His names Jake,” Sam sneered. “Did you get him?”

“No, by the time we got there both Hailey and Jake were gone,” Dean sighed.

“What?” Sam demanded to rise to his feet, “Dean we have to find her.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Dean scolded gently forcing Sam to sit back down, “Easy there, Sammy. You just woke up, all right? Let’s get you something to eat, huh? You want something to eat?” When Sam nodded Dean grinned, “I’m starving.”

I watched as Sam and Dean ate some of the pizza and chicken knowing that if Sam was still dead then there would be no reason why we would be eating right now. There was a nagging feeling in my gut that Sam didn’t rise by himself. There were a few things that could bring a person back to life. Actually, I only knew one way to bring someone back after they died. It was to make a deal with a demon.

Normally that happened at crossroads where pacts were made. The normal deal would last ten years, and the demon would give you whatever you wanted. The only repercussion of that was the demon got your soul and you went to hell. Dad had made a deal to save Dean’s life and he was in hell. Who knows what was happening to him and there was nothing we could do. If Dad’s deal was messed with Dean would die and I wondered if it the same would be for Dean’s deal. At least if a deal had been made.

“Ads!” Dean snapped.

I startled out of my reverie and gazed wide-eyed at Dean.

“You going to eat?” Dean prodded.

“Not hungry,” I muttered.

“I didn’t ask if you were hungry,” Dean said. “I told you to eat. When was the last time you ate something?”

“Dunno,” I shrugged.

“ _Aiden_ ,” Dean warned.

I huffed rolling my eyes as I grabbed a piece of chicken out of the bucket and taking a huge bite. When Dean finally adverted his gaze I put the piece of chicken down looking at Sam.

“What happened?” I asked.

“It was a competition,” Sam said. “The demon said he only wanted one of us to walk out alive.”

“He told you that?” Dean questioned.

“Yeah,” Sam scoffed. “He appeared in a dream.”

“He tell you anything else?” I asked.

“Nope,” Sam said. “That was it, nothing else. You know, what I don’t get, Dean? If the demon only wanted one of us, then how did Jake and I both get away?”

“Well, I mean, they left you or dead. I’m sure they thought it was over,” Dean lied taking a large bite of pizza, “So now that Yellow Eyes has Jake, what’s he going to do with him?”

“No idea,” Sam shrugged. “But whatever it is we have to stop him.”

“Wyoming,” I groaned. “Dean, he’s going to Wyoming!”

“What are you talking about?” Sam questioned.

“In Wyoming, Samuel Colt has five frontier churches that have private railway line connecting church to church. It makes a hundred square mile Devil’s trap. No demon can get across,” I explained

“Here’s a thought,” Dean grimaced. “What if Colt wasn’t trying to keep demons out? What if he was trying to keep something in?”

“That’s great,” I fumed.

“You think?” Dean retorted.

“It’s powerful,” I said. “There’s no way a full-blood demon gets across.”

“No,” Sam agreed. “But I know who could.”

 “We’ll call Bobby, he’ll take care of it,” Dean said.

“What?” Sam cried. “We have to stop him, Dean!”

“You need your rest,” Dean said. “We have time.”

“No we don’t,” Sam snapped.

“The other hunters have a handle on this, Sam,” Dean growled. “You almost died back there. Take care of yourself for a little bit, huh?”

“I’m sorry,” Sam whispered. “No.”

I felt Dean growl low in his throat as Sam packed up his stuff. Seconds later we were ready to head towards Wyoming. Bobby, Ellen, Natasha, and Jo had already been notified and were going to meet us there. I just hoped that wherever Jake was Hailey wasn’t far behind. I just wondered how Natasha and Bobby would react to seeing Sam up and moving.

**Hailey’s Point of View**

“You know this whole silent and brooding thing is really making this trip uncomfortable,” Jake mused.

We had stolen a car as soon as we could. I didn’t recognize the area around me, which wasn’t remotely helpful. I knew we were definitely out of South Dakota and I wondered where we were supposed to be going next. We had stopped to get Lucy and Abby, but they weren’t adding anything to the conversation either.

“Oh, gee, I’m so sorry Jake,” I sneered. “We wouldn’t want this to be uncomfortable. Blame Azazel, if he hadn’t stopped me you wouldn’t be feeling much of anything right now.”

I got out of the car, slamming the door in the process as Lucy and Abby followed suit. If this had been different circumstances Lucy, Abby, and I could’ve been close. I could tell they felt the same way about all of this.

“Look,” Jake growled rounding on me, “you did what you had to do to get here and so did I. The people you killed had families too. You’re not special, Winchester.”

“You’re right, they probably did have families,” I replied. “But, unlike them. I killed them in self-defense. You stabbed Sam in the back and nothing is going to stop me from settling the score.”

I was unprepared for when Jake suddenly backhanded me across the jaw. My head snapped to the left as my eyes watered in pain. I reacted instantly lunging at Jake hardest punch that I could throw. He landed hard on the ground with me right on top of him. I grabbed one of my knives and when I went to stab him, Abby and Lucy pried me away from him.

“How was the trip?” Azazel asked immediately turning our attention from each other to him.

“We’re here,” I snapped. “Now what?”

“Fifty miles that away,” Azazel ordered pointing over the train tracks. “There’s a cemetery. A crept. You got to open that. Think you all can manage that?”

“You know what?” Jake hissed. “Screw you and your freaky orders. Go do it yourself.”

“Oh, I can’t,” Azazel winced. “I can’t go that way not yet.”

“Iron,” I whispered. “The tracks are made of iron and you can’t cross.”

“Yeah, you’re the smart one,” Azazel grinned. “But you all are gonna open that crypt for me, you’re gonna need a key.”

My eyes widened in surprise as Azazel pulled out the Colt from his jacket pocket and held it in the air.

“A gun?” Jake sneered.

“Oh, this isn’t any gun,” Azazel smirked. “This is the only gun in the whole universe that can shoot me dead.”

“Is that so?” Jake said.

“Yep,” Azazel grinned. “Here take it.” I rolled my eyes as Jake took the gun and immediately cocked the gun and aimed it at Azazel, “Oh, my, I’m shocked at this unforeseen turn of events. Go ahead, Jake, squeeze that trigger be all you can be. This will all be over; your life can go back to normal. Of course, the Army won’t take you back because you’re AWOL, but, I’m sure you could get your old job at the factory back. But then, on the other hand, the rest of your life, and your family’s could be money and honey, health and wealth, every day is ice-cream sundae. And all you gotta do is this one little thing.”

“Why me?” Jake demanded. “Why can’t they do it.”

“Because you’re my leader,” Azazel answered. “And you open that crypt, and you will have your army.”

“You’re talking about the end of the world,” I protested.

“It’s not the end,” Azazel disagreed. “It’s the beginning, a better world where all of you and your family will be protected. More than that. They’ll be royalty.”

“Fine,” Jake answered.

Abby, Lucy, and I shared a look. It seemed as though I wasn’t the only one with a background in the Supernatural because they didn’t seem at all swayed by Azazel’s promises. Jake, on the other hand, was greedily feeding out of the palm of his hand. Taking the gun and pocketing it he got back in the car, giving us no other choice but to follow after him.

By the time we got to the cemetery, it was nighttime. Abby, Lucy, and I followed after Jake as he led us towards the giant crypt located right in the middle of the graveyard. I saw something move out of the corner of my eye and I fought a relieved sigh. Dean was here which meant that more than likely so was Aiden along with a lot of other hunters. We stood by the crypt as Jake moved up to it.

“Howdy, Jake,” A familiar voice greeted.

“Sam?” I whimpered.

I was dumbfounded, there was no way that Sam could be alive. He had died in my arms. I looked around noticing that Sam wasn’t alone. Bobby, Ellen, Dean, Aiden, Jo, and Natasha came out of the shadows. I looked immediately to Natasha, but she avoided my gaze keeping her gun trained on Jake who was staring at Sam like he had seen a ghost.

“You were dead,” Jake gaped. “I killed you.”

“Yeah?” Sam sneered. “Next time finish the job.”

“I did!” Jake snarled. “I cut clean through your spinal cord, man.” At that, Sam looked at Dean and I looked at him to wondering how the hell Sam could even be walking around right now. “You can’t be alive. You can’t be.”

“Okay, just take it really easy there, son,” Bobby soothed.

“Do what he says,” I shouted.

“Bitch, you’re the one who has to be listening to my orders, not the other way around,” Jake seethed.

“Don’t talk to her like that!” Aiden shouted.

“Stay out of this,” Jake hissed before turning back to me and once again backhanded me across the face. When I moved to retaliate Abby and Lucy restrained me.

“Don’t, Hailey, “Abby soothed. “He could kill you.”

“Just take it easy,” Bobby tried again.

“And if I don’t?” Jake hissed.

“Wait and see,” Sam snarled.

“What, you a tough guy all of a sudden?” Jake taunted. “What are you gonna do, kill me?”

“It’s a thought,” Sam stated.

“You had your chance,” Jake rolled his eyes, “you couldn’t.”

I growled low in my throat as I grabbed the knives out of my pocket. Once again Abby and Lucy blocked me from getting my hands on Jake and for some reason, my telekinesis wasn’t working. Sam looked at me before glaring at Jake, “I won’t make the same mistake twice.”

“What are you smiling at, you little bitch?” Dean demanded.

Jake laughed turning his attention to Ellen, “Hey Lady, do me a favor, put that gun to your head.” I gasped when Ellen shakily put the gun to her temple, “See that Ava girl was right. Once you give into it, there are all sorts of new Jedi mind tricks you can learn.”

“Let her go,” Sam ordered.

“Shoot him,” Ellen groaned her voice trembling as well as her arm.

“You’ll be mopping up skull before you get a shot down,” Jake warned. “Everyone, put your guns down. Except you, sweetheart.”

All the guns drop as they glared daggers at him, “Thank you.”

I watched as Jake turned around and pulled the Colt out of his pocket. He quickly put the gun in the center of the crypt where there was some sort of locking mechanism on it. Dean and Bobby lunged toward Ellen pulling the gun just before she could shoot herself. Suddenly Sam was right next to me shooting Jake four times in the back. Jake crumbled to the ground and Sam moved to position himself in front of him.

“Please,” Jake whimpered. “Please…do-don't. Please!”

“I told you that you’d get to beg,” I snarled lowly right before Sam fired three more shots into Jake’s chest.

I planted a vicious kick into Jake’s side before watching as two separate engravings on the crypt in different directions before both suddenly stopped.

“Oh, no,” Bobby hissed.

“What is it?” Ellen asked.

“It’s hell,” Bobby responded.

Dean reached forward and grabbed the Colt out of the crypt.

“Take cover,” Bobby ordered. “NOW!”

My eyes widened in surprise at Bobby’s tone, but my body jumped into action because when a guy like Bobby yelled he meant whatever he said. All of us ran hiding behind tombstones for cover. When the crypt burst open it did so with a bang. I watched horrified as a large, black mass erupted from the other side and shot forwards into the sky.

“What the hell just happened?” Dean demanded.

“That’s a devil’s gate,” Ellen explained. “A damn door to hell.”

“Oh, my god,” I hissed.

“Come on!” Ellen ordered. “We have to shut that gate!”

I watched as Dean checked the Colt for bullets.

“If the demon gave this to Jake…then maybe…” Dean mused.

With a giant crash of thunder, Azazel appeared right behind Dean. I attempted to run towards them, but Azazel was faster flinging the Colt one day and Dean the other.

“A boy shouldn’t play with Daddy’s guns,” Azazel taunted.

Dean’s head cracked against the tombstone and I rushed towards him with Sam and Aiden on my heels. We all went flying, Aiden landed next to Dean while Sam and I were pinned to a tree.

“I’ll get you in a minute champ,” Azazel smiled at Sam. “But I’m proud of you, knew you had it in you.”

Azazel then turned to Dean and Aiden, “Sit a spell.” With that Dean and Aiden were pinned against the tombstone, “So, Dean, I got to thank you. You see, demons can’t resurrect people unless a deal is made. I know, red tape, it’ll drive you nuts. But thanks to you, Sammy’s back in the rotation. Now, I wasn’t counting on that, but I’m glad. I liked him better than Jake anyhow, and getting your sister to listen to him? A total nightmare. But tell me, have you ever heard the expression, ‘If a deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is?”

“You call that deal good?” Dean snarked.

“It’s a better shake than your dad ever got, and you never wondered why?” Azazel questioned. “I’m surprised at you. I mean, you saw what your brother just did to Jake, right? That was pretty cold, wasn’t it? How certain are you that what you brought back was one hundred percent pure Sam. You of all people should know, that’s what’s dead, should stay dead. Anyway, thanks a bunch. I knew I kept you alive for some reason. Until now, anyway. I couldn’t have done it without your pathetic, self-loathing, self-destructive desire to sacrifice yourself for your family.”

Azazel cocked the Colt I realized that a black shape was forming behind Azazel and then it formed into an identifiable shape. It was dad and he moved quickly grabbed the demon right out of the person it was animating. The body fell to the ground with the gun still in its hand. Dad and the demon were wrestling in the grass as Dean scrambled forward grabbing the gun. The demon got the edge on dad and reentered the body it was possessing. When it stood up, Dean reacted instinctually firing the Colt. I watched anxiously as Azazel turned right into the bullet. He exploded in a blaze of red and white light while the body crumbled to the ground, dead.

Azazel was dead. Oh, my god. The demon we had spent my entire life hunting was finally gone never to mess with my family again and Dad was out of hell. He was fighting to stand up and that’s when everything went back into normal speed. I watched as Ellen, Bobby, Natasha, Jo, Abby, and Lucy struggling to close the door. When it slammed shut I watched my father. I walked closer, crying softly. Dad laid his hand on Dean's shoulder, smiling proudly. He then looked at Aiden, Sam, and I nodding to us. When Dad stepped back a white light engulfed the scene and just as quickly as Dad had shown up he was gone. I turned on my heel and looked down at the body that once held Azazel.

“Well, check that off the to-do list,” Dean grinned.

“You did it,” Sam whispered.

“I didn’t do it alone,” Dean replied.

“Do you think Dad really,” I tried to ask. “Do you think he really climbed outta hell?”

“The door was open,” Dean shrugged. “If anyone’s stubborn enough to do it…it would be him.”

“Where do you think he is now?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know,” Dean said.

“But he’s not in hell,” Aiden said. “That’s the important thing”

“I can’t believe it,” Sam shook his head. “I mean our whole lives…everything has been prepping for this, and now I don’t know what to say?”

“I do,” Dean declared leaning closer to the body, “That was for our mom, you son of a bitch.”

I abandoned any restraint I had and threw myself into Sam’s arms. He stumbled backward slightly before picking me up. He thought I was just happy that the demon was dead. But all of that didn’t matter as long as I had my big brother back. Each of us had a valuable role to play in our family and you never knew exactly how much each of us mattered and functioned well together until a part of us was missing. I barely noticed that Sam was moving until we were right next to the impala. He placed me gently on the ground and Aiden pulled me into his side.

“Where’ve you been?” Aiden questioned.

“The demon threatened your lives, I did what I had too,” I whispered.

“Hailey,” Aiden sighed.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Ads,” I whispered.

“Hay, Natasha told us some of what you were going to do to Jake,” Aiden said.

“Aiden, please,” I pleaded. “Not now.”

Aiden made huffed before pulling me closer. I leaned against him as I watched Sam and Dean walk on ahead of us. The air around us was a mixture of euphoria and trepidation. Dean’s deal was souring up what should’ve been an amazing moment. It was the one we had been waiting for our entire lives and now it happened.

“You know, when Jake saw me,” Sam began, “it was like he saw a ghost. I mean, you heard him, Dean. He said he killed me.”

“I’m glad he was wrong,” Dean said.

“I don’t think he was, Dean,” Sam responded. “What happened after I was stabbed?”

“I already told you,” Dean stated.

“Not everything,” Sam retorted.

“Sam, we just killed the demon,” Dean reproached. “Can we celebrate for a minute?”

“Did I die?” Sam whispered.

“Oh, come on,” Dean growled.

“Did you sell your soul for me, like Dad did for you?” Sam questioned.

“Oh, come on!” Dean snapped. “No!”

“Tell me the truth,” Sam spat. “Dean, tell me the truth.”

“Sam…” Dean chuckled although it wasn’t a friendly sound.

“How long did you get?” Sam asked.

“One year,” Dean sighed. “I got one year.”

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Sam whimpered. “How could you do that?”

“Don’t get mad at me. Don’t you do that,” Dean growled. “I had to look out for you. That’s my job.”

“And what do you think my job is?” Sam retorted.

“What?” Dean asked.

“You've saved my life over and over. I mean, you sacrifice everything for me. You sacrifice everything for us,” Sam stated. “Don't you think I'd do the same for you? That we’d do the same thing for you. You're my big brother. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you. And I don't care what it takes, I'm gonna get you out of this. Guess I gotta save your ass for a change.”

“Yeah,” Dean replied.

“Well...Yellow-Eyed Demon might be dead,” Ellen said approaching us. “But a lot more got through that gate.”

“How many, you think?” Dean asked

“Hundred, maybe two hundred,” Sam guess, “It's an army. He's unleashed an army.”

“Hope to hell you guys are ready,” Bobby grimaced. “Cause the war has just begun.”

“Well, then,” Dean grinned tossing the Colt into the trunk of the impala, “We got work to do.”

Damn straight we did because even though Azazel was dead, who knew what we had let out of hell. The thought made my stomach flip but nothing, not even hell was going to keep my brothers and me apart. We’d get Dean out of his deal, we had too because whatever grief I felt when I thought I had lost Sam it was nothing compared to how we’d all feel if Dean was gone.


	22. Victim of Circumstance

“Are you going to talk to me?” Dean growled, knocking the book out of my hand, “Damn it, Hailey Jade, just say something!”

I looked up at him, my eyes narrowing in annoyance. All of us were in the middle of reading _Dr. Faustus_ , looking for ways to get Dean out of his deal. We had split from the others minutes after killing Azazel and now we were holed up in one giant motel suite and things weren’t looking any better than they had then. Dean only had one year: 365 days…8,760 hours…525,600 minutes…31,536,000 seconds. In the end, the numbers didn’t mean anything if I was focusing on counting instead of enjoying the time we had with Dean. But by enjoying the time with Dean we were accepting the fact that in a year he would be in hell and that was just something that I couldn’t do.

It was foolish at best, giving Dean the silent treatment while our days together were numbered. But I was angry at everything. I was angry that Dean had made a deal but I was happy that Sammy was okay. So, then I was angry at my own reaction. And who knows how we all would’ve been acting if Sam had actually stayed dead.

“Actually, you know what?” Dean grumbled turning away from me and shrugging on his jacket, “I’m out of here.”

“Where are you going, Dean?” Sam sighed.

“Away from here,” Dean muttered.

We all watched as Dean grabbed the car keys before preceding and slamming the door behind him. When he was gone Aiden and Sam turned to me with the same accusatory look on both their faces. Suddenly Aiden sprang to his feet, grabbing my arm and pulling me out of the chair I was sitting in.

“Aiden?” I growled attempting to shake him off of me.

He didn’t say a word but his expression spoke volumes. His lips were pressed into a thin, angry line as he yanked me bodily out of the motel room, stifling Sam’s protests with an angry slam of the door. Aiden didn’t slow his movements as he dragged me away from our motel room and down the stairs, across the parking lot and into the park that was across the street. Whenever I attempted to disentangle myself from his grasp he’d stop long enough to shoot me a death glare before continuing his movements

“Aiden, what the fuck is your problem?” I snapped.

“Why do you have to treat him like that?” Aiden retorted jerking both of us to a sudden stop.

“Oh, wow, I’m so sorry, Aiden,” I hissed before allowing my voice to take on a high pitched girlish squeak, “Like, I didn’t know that like going to hell was such a good thing.”

The sound of flesh striking flesh was loud and sudden in the peaceful stillness of the park. I didn’t have time to recover from the hit before Aiden had pinned me against a tree. Before he could say a word I swung my hand to slap him back but he caught it seconds it would’ve landed. Sapphire blue eyes locked on hazel green in a heated gaze.

“You ever hit me again and I swear they won’t find your _fucking_ body!” 

“I’m not afraid of you,” Aiden responded. His voice was light despite his steely gaze and tight grip on my wrist that kept my slap from connecting.

My eyes narrowed and I moved quickly. Turning into Aiden’s hold and throwing him over my shoulder. He landed hard and before he could react I had pinned him to the ground. Because of the weight and height difference, I couldn’t stop him as he rolled and then I was the one that was pinned to the ground. He held my wrists over my head and I squirmed trying to move from the pin.

“Get off me!” I growled.

“No,” Aiden yelled. “Dean is going to hell in one year, Hay, and you’re going to waste it by being pissed at him.”

“We’re going to get him out of it!” I hissed as I bucked against his hold.

“And if we don’t?” Aiden grunted after a particularly hard kick to his side. “Will you be able to live with that?”

“Stop it, Aiden."

“He’s my brother too. One year is nothing, Hay. It isn’t so if you’re going to spend it by being angry then that’s your decision but I’ll be damned if you being a little brat is going to start affecting all of us.”

“Let. Me. Go!”

I didn’t wait for him to let me go when I flipped over sending Aiden flying again. When I began to walk away, he grabbed my ankle knocking me back to the ground. I smacked him away and pulled myself back to my feet.

“Back off."

“No. Don’t you see this it’s affecting all of us? So, either talk to me or just stop.”

“No."

“Stop trying to walk away from this, Hailey,” Aiden said grabbing my wrist as I brushed past him.

“Stop trying to get me to talk."

“Hay."

“No, Aiden, why don’t you share how you’re feeling?” I replied. “Huh?”

“I think it sucks,” Aiden said. “There was no easy way to do this and now, either way, we’re going to lose a brother. I know how you were when Sam died because I was the exact same way. And now Dean’s going to hell and we’ve read nearly every book we can find trying to find a way to break this but what if we can’t and Dean goes to hell?”

“We’re going to find a way."

“We might. But we might not and I’m not going to feel guilty if I spend any time holding this over Dean’s head because we need Sam just as much as we need Dean.”

I shook my head and looked at the ground attempting to hide the fact that my eyes were filling with tears. Aiden knew without even looking and used his grip on my wrist to pull me into his chest. My head tucked under his chin. I trembled in his arms as I fought the millions of emotions swirling just under the surface: relieve, anxiousness, anger, sadness, and euphoria. Although, sadness was pretty much the dominant emotion because I just couldn’t fathom a day where Dean just wasn’t here. And it wasn’t even the fact that he wouldn’t be here it was the fact that he’d be in hell. We didn’t know anything about hell except that it was horrible and unimaginable and now Dean was going there.

Within the confines of Aiden’s arms, I felt nearly as protected as when I was with Dean. Aiden tightened his hold on me as I began to sob. My tears dampened his sweatshirt as my hands fisted the fabric.

“I know, Hailey,” Aiden soothed his deep voice washing over me attempting to soothe my ruffled feathers. “I do. It’ll be okay, I promise.”

“How can any of this be okay?” I sobbed.

“I don’t know,” Aiden confessed and with that, I cried harder and he held me tighter.

There was a brutal reality that I had yet been faced with. People died all the time, that was just how things happened. Good people, bad people we all died eventually. We all lost people eventually. But, the brutal reality was that no matter what you did, what difference you made, how many people we helped, you died. You lost people you cared about and no matter what you did you couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t stop the demon from killing my mother, or my father, or Trevor. And, with every book I read, with every answer I couldn’t find, I was slowly losing the hope I had of finding a loophole in the deal that Dean had made.

It was something that you saw in older hunters: a sense of overwhelming sadness hidden deep within their eyes that you could just feel from every move they made. It shouldn’t happen with people who were as young as my brothers and I. But, we had seen things and felt the pain that not everyone could handle and we kept going even when everyone expected us to falter.

“She okay?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” Aiden muttered. “What are you doing here?”

“Dean came back with some company,” Sam shrugged.

“Ew,” I grimaced.

“Where are we supposed to stay?” I sniffed.

“How about we get some dinner?”  Aiden suggested.

“I’m not hungry,” Sam sighed. “I’m just gonna sit in the impala.”

“Call if you need anything,” Aiden said as he led me towards the center of town.

The door hit the bell on the threshold of the ceiling as Aiden opened the door for me. Our waitress pointed us to a both in the back and Aiden and I ate quietly. We ordered the normal thing: burgers with fries. I sighed as I took a bite of my cheeseburger before nibbling on a fry.

“You need to eat.”

“I am eating.”

“You know what I mean, Hay.”

I shook my head and picked at another fry. I felt Aiden’s eyes burning a hole in the top of my head.

“What happened in Cold Oak?”

I visibly flinched before looking at Aiden with round blue eyes.

“I know you’ve been having nightmares. You haven’t slept a full night since everything in Wyoming.”

I shook my head not lifting my eyes from my still full plate.

“You can’t keep all this to yourself. You’re not dad.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Who is Bella? You keep begging her to stop and then you begin apologizing.”

“I killed her because she was trying to kill me.”

“Hay, you did what you could to protect herself.”

“I snapped her neck. I snapped her neck so brutally, I damn near tore it off.”

“It was a battle. There’s casualties.”

“I’d never seen anything like it.”

As Aiden began to retort his phone rang cutting him off before he could. I sighed as Aiden had a rapid-fire conversation with Sam. Apparently, Bobby had news and we were going to meet.

“Let’s go, they’re coming to get us now,” Aiden said throwing some money on the table.

I followed after him throwing on my sweatshirt. It was raining lightly and I used the hood to keep me mostly dry. When the impala swerved into the parking lot five minutes later, Aiden and I closed the distance leaping into the backseat. I waited for Sam and Dean to catch us up to speed, instead of that conversation there was a different one.

“Let me see your knife,” Sam muttered.

“What for?” Dean asked.

I immediately noticed that Dean was practically glowing and Sam looked disgusted. I smiled already predicting what had happened.

“So I can gouge my eyes out,” Sam replied.

“It was a beautiful, natural act, Sam,” Dean chuckled.

“It ’s a part of you I never wanted to see, Dean,” Sam grimaced.

“Hey, I appreciate you giving me a little quality time with the Double mint twins,” Dean said.

“You’re revolting,” I rolled my eyes.

“Oh, you’re talking to me now?” Dean asked pinning me with a look in the rearview mirror.

I crossed my arms and slouched back in my seat.

“What’s Bobby got?” Aiden asked.

“Not much,” Sam sighed. “Crop failure and a cicada swarm outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. Now, it could be demonic omens…”

“Or it could just be a bad crop and a bug problem,” Dean said.

“It’s our only lead,” Sam frowned.

“Any freaky deaths?” Dean asked.

“Not that Bobby could find,” Sam said. “Not yet anyway.”

“It’s weird, man,” Dean sighed. “I mean, the night the Devil’s gate opened, all these weirdo storm clouds were sighted over how many cities?”

“Seventeen,” Sam answered.

“Seventeen,” Dean mused. “You’d think it would be _Apocalypse Now_ , but it’s been five days and bubkes. What are the demons waiting for?”

“Their leader,” I whispered at the same time Sam said, “Beats me.”

“It’s driving me crazy,” Dean groaned. “I tell you, if it’s gonna be war, I wish it would just start already.”

“I don’t know, man,” Sam grimaced. “Careful what you wish for.”

I sighed as I squirmed in my seat moving my feet into Aiden’s lap as I settled into the impala's seat. Aiden pulled off my shoes tossing them to the ground as he got more comfortable. We were used to falling asleep back here, falling asleep on one another.

_“Sammy, look out!”_

_It was like watching it in slow motion, Sam stumbling towards me, Jake getting up and grabbing a knife, Sam not turning fast enough to keep the knife from lodging in his back. His expression of surprise and pain as he fell to his knees. The way his body was heavy on mine, mud and blood coating us both. The way one moment he was there, then he wasn’t. Gone just like that._

_“It’s going to be okay, Sam, it’s not even that bad. Sam? SAM! SAMMY NO!”_

“Hailey!”

_“Sam! Open your eyes, please. Come on, wake up!”_

“Hailey!”

_“No, no, no, no!”_

“Hay! It’s just a nightmare!”

I jolted awake nearly hitting Aiden in the face as I sprang away from him, as far away as I could get in the impala’s backseat. My eyes scanned the surroundings, taking in the fact that we were pulled over on the shoulder of the road, my brother’s eyeing me cautiously. Sam reached over and grabbed my hand, I clung to it like a lifeline.

“Easy,” Sam whispered. “I’m okay. We’re okay.”

“Sorry,” I replied. “I didn’t-”

“That’s not one of the things you should ever be sorry for,” Sam stated, firmly. “I’m sorry you saw all that…”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

I knew my tone was terse by the way my brothers exchanged glances before letting the subject drop. I took a deep breath, settling back into my seat. My heart was racing from the remnants of the nightmare as I struggled to regain my equilibrium. Slowly I managed to fall back asleep only waking up when the impala began to slow. I must’ve been fast asleep because Dean was eating a cheeseburger. I rubbed at my eyes and looked at the clock it was nearly ten in the morning. I stumbled out of the impala joining my brothers by Bobby’s car.

“You hear those cicadas?” Sam asked.

“That can’t be a good sign,” Dean grimaced.

“No,” Sam sighed, “no it can’t.”

“We’re eating bacon cheeseburgers for breakfast, are we?” Bobby questioned.

“Well, I sold my soul,” Dean smirked taking a big bite of the burger, “got a year to live. I ain’t sweating the cholesterol.”

I opened my mouth to say something when Aiden elbowed me in the side. I glowered up at him and moved away rubbing my side. I wasn’t the one rubbing the deal in our faces.

“So, Bobby, what do you think?” Sam asked. “We got a biblical plague here, or what?”

“Let’s find out,” Bobby said. “Looks like this is the swarm’s ground zero.”

With Bobby in the lead, we followed after him, approaching the house. Dean knocked on the door loudly shouting, “Candy gram!”

There was no answer and Dean grabbed his lock picks and quickly opened the door. We all had our guns drawn but the one thing we didn’t expect was the smell. It was disgusting and I gagged covering my nose.

“That’s awful,” Sam gasped.

“That so can’t be a good sign,” Dean whispered.

“Nope,” Sam agreed.

We continued searching the house, splitting up as we searched the room. Most of the rooms were empty and that was when we heard the muffled screaming from the other room. Together we moved towards the door and opened it quickly rushing inside with guns drawn.

“Oh, my god,” Sam gaped.

“Wow.”

The first thing we saw was three people sitting on the couch. Well, technically speaking, three rotting corpses sitting on the couch. It was a husband, a wife, and a son, who appeared to have wasted away in front of the television. Flies were all over them and the room. Bobby entered a few seconds later and grimaced.

“Bobby, what the hell?” Aiden asked.

“I don’t know,” Bobby answered truthfully.

“Check for sulfur,” Dean ordered us.

We moved instantly to do what Dean had ordered. A few minutes into the search Dean whistled lowly and when we all looked towards him he gestured for us to get away from the window. I moved quickly and watched as Dean walked out the door and around to the front porch, gun in hand. When I heard a thud, I moved quickly ducking Aiden’s restraining arm and running to find the source of the noise. I saw Dean on the ground with two people standing over him and I reacted immediately aiming my gun at the two. Bobby’s voice startled me but I didn’t lower my weapon.

“Isaac?” Bobby asked. “Tamara?”

Bobby came to stand next to me and lowered my gun. I glared at him sharply and he stared back. I huffed and went to help Dean stand up as Isaac and Tamara began to talk. It never ceased to amaze me exactly how many people Bobby knew. Aiden and Sam came out to join us and they helped me get Dean back on his feet. His nose was bloodied and I shoved some tissues into his hand.

After Bobby’s conversation, we followed Bobby’s mustang to some house a few miles away. I couldn’t tell whether it was Isaac and Tamara’s house or the place that they were squatting. I followed after my brothers not really trusting these people who had attacked Dean without reason.

“Honey where’s the Palo Santo?” Isaac asked.

We had been in the house for a few minutes, but I refused to leave Aiden and Sam’s side. Dean was on the phone with the coroner’s tech.

“Palo Santo?” Sam queried.

“It’s holy wood from Peru,” Tamara explained. “It’s toxic to demons, like holy water. It keeps the bastards nailed down while you’re exorcizing them.”

She handed a wooden stake to Isaac.

“Thank you, dear,” Isaac smiled.

“You’d lose your head if it wasn’t for me,” Tamara teased.

“So, how long have you two been married?” Sam questioned.

“Eight years, this past June,” Tamara smiled.

“A family that slays together…” Isaac quipped.

Aiden, Sam and I exchanged smirks before Sam spoke, “Right, I’m with you there. So, how’d you get started?” Tamara’s smile faded and Sam backtracked instantly, “I’m sorry, it’s none of my business.”

“No, no, it’s all right,” Tamara soothed.

Luckily any tension in the room was broken when Dean entered the room still talking to the coroner’s tech.

“Well, Jenny, if you look as pretty as you sound, I’d love to have an appletini,” Dean smirked before shrugging at us, “Yeah. Call you.”

“So?” Sam prompted.

“Get this: that family, cause of death?” Dean shook his head, “Dehydration and starvation. There was no signs of restraint, no violence, no struggle. They just sat down and never got back up.”

“There was a fully-stocked kitchen just yards away,” Bobby gaped.

“Right,” Sam agreed, “what is this, a demon attack?”

“If it is, it’s not like anything I ever saw,” Bobby shrugged. “And I’ve seen plenty.”

“Well, what now?” Dean questioned. “What should we do?”

“Uh, we’re not gonna do anything,” Isaac corrected.

“What do you mean?” Sam asked.

“You guys seem nice enough,” Isaac said. “But this ain’t Scooby-Doo and we don’t play well with others.”

“Well, I think we’d cover a lot more ground if we all worked together,” Sam stated.

“No offense, but we’re not teaming with the damn fools who let the Devil’s Gate get opened in the first place,” Isaac sneered.

“No offense?” Dean growled.

“We didn’t let the gate get opened,” I snapped. “We tried to stop it.”

“Hails,” Dean warned.

“Isaac, like you have never made a mistake,” Tamara reproached.

“Oh, yeah, locked my keys in the car,” Isaac replied. “Turned my laundry pink. Never brought on the end of the world, though.”

“You seem to know a lot for someone who wasn’t there,” Aiden said. “We put out a call to all our contacts. Somehow you didn’t make that list.”

“Guys, this isn’t helping,” Sam scolded.

“Look, there are a couple hundred more demons out there now,” Isaac hissed. “We don’t know where they are when they’ll strike. There ain’t enough hunters in the world to handle something like this. You brought war down on us. On all of us.”

“Hey, man, go fuck yourself,” Aiden snapped.

“Ads!” Sam groaned.

“Okay, that’s quite enough testosterone for now,” Tamara sighed leading Isaac away from us.

Bobby leveled us with a disapproving look before going over to the table and sitting down. I looked around before I shook my head and made my way out of the house. I wandered around the property for a few minutes until I realized that I wasn’t alone. I threw my hand backward slamming someone against the side of the house as I turned on my heel.

“Who are you?” I snarled.

“I’m someone who can help,” The girl replied.

She could have been any older than Aiden. She had blue eyes and light blonde hair. She was wearing a graphic tee shirt, boots, and jeans. She had a gray leather jacket over her shoulders and looked surprised that she had been slammed against the wall.

“Who says we need your help?”

“You know how to get Dean out of his deal?”

“You demons just can’t leave us the hell alone!”

“Keep your voice down.”

“Or what? You’ll be exorcized? My thoughts exactly.”

“I can help you save your brother!” The girl cried before I could begin the exorcism rite.

“How?”

“You have to trust me.”

“Trust you?”

“Don’t be racist. I’m here because I want to help you and Sam.”

“What about Sam and me?”

“You two key instruments in Azazel’s plan.”

“The plan isn’t going to happen.”

“Because you guys are hunters and fight to keep innocent humans safe, yeah, got that. Let’s put that all aside shall we? I know a way to save your brother and all you have to do is trust me.”

“Why would you want to do anything to help us?”

“I have my reasons. Not all demons are the same, Hailey. Not all of us want the same thing. Me? I want to help you from time to time.”

“Who are you?”

“The name’s Ruby.”

My eyes were still narrowed but I allowed her to get off the side of the wall before I could comment further, I heard the front door open.

“Hailey!” Aiden shouted. “Dinner!”

“There’s your cue,” Ruby smiled.

I growled low in my throat as I turned to go back into the house. When I came inside I saw that someone had run out and got Chinese food. I grinned grabbed the fried rice that Sam had set aside along with the chopsticks. I sat down in between Sam and Aiden and began to eat.

“Hailey,” Bobby called.

I picked my head up and looked at Bobby questionably.

“Everything okay with you?” Bobby asked.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” I replied

“Natasha told us that you had been in Cold Oak and left seconds before we would’ve found you,” Bobby said.

“The demon threatened your lives, I did what I was told.”

“What happened with Jake?” Sam asked.

“I’m not talking about this,” I stated. “I’m going to sleep.”

“Hay,” Aiden sighed.

I shook my head as I made my way upstairs and found an actual bed. I grinned before falling face down onto the bed. I didn’t know the last time anyone had used this bedroom and right now I didn’t really care. I had slept in worse places. I wondered whether I should tell my brothers about meeting Ruby but what if she really could help Dean with his deal. I sighed rolling over. I’d tell Sam tomorrow, he’d understand. Dean would be pissed that I didn’t exorcize her on the spot but if she really could help then maybe she might just be useful. Sometime between my pondering I drifted off, only stirring when someone climbed into bed.

“S’alright, Hay,” Aiden muttered and with that, I fell back asleep.

The next morning came entirely too quickly. We were up and moving when Sam told us that something had happened in town. I had changed quickly shrugging into a sweatshirt, that I was pretty sure wasn’t mine and straight legged jeans along with my boots. I grabbed my gun and put in the waistband of my jeans and placed my knives in my boots.

Ten minutes later we were in the department store or at least Dean and Aiden were, Sam and I were outside the shop while Bobby was interviewing the girl who had apparently smashed a girl’s head into the windshield repeatedly and the altercation was over shoes of all things.

“Do they have the shoes?” I asked.

“Yeah,” Sam said, “Bobby sent a picture.”

I took Sam’s phone and wrinkled my nose, “Of all the really cute shoes someone was killed over those fucking ugly things?”

“Hails!” Sam scolded.

“It’s called a joke, geek boy,” I sniggered.

Sam sent me a sharp look and I smiled at him as I walked into the department store. I walked over to where Aiden was standing on the outskirts as Dean was talking to someone.

“You know, what happened outside makes you realize how fragile life really is,” Dean flirted. “You gotta make every second count.”

“Daddy,” I called bounding up to Dean and the girl who was falling for his act hook, line, and sinker, “Mom was just wondering when we were coming home?

“It’s, uh, a family business,” Dean grimaced giving me a hard look.

“Dean, what are you doing?” Sam demanded as the girl walked away.

“Comforting the bereaved until someone decided to play the ‘Daddy’ card,” Dean frowned.

Dean sent me another glare that I ignored glancing at the door just as Bobby walked in. His hair was slicked back. He was in a suit, and there was no trucker cap or vest in sight.

“Whoa,” Dean whistled, “Looking spiffy, Bobby. What were you, a G-Man?”

“Attorney for the DA’s office,” Bobby said. “I got to speak to the suspect.”

“What do you think?” Sam asked. “Was she possessed, or what?”

“I don’t think so,” Bobby sighed. “There was none of the usual signs: no blackouts, no loss of control, totally lucid. She just really wanted those shoes. I spilled a glass of holy water on her, just to be sure: nothing.”

“She could just be some random whacko,” Dean suggested.

“If it’d been an isolated incident, maybe. But first the family, now this?” Bobby grimaced. “I believe in a lot of things but coincidence ain’t one of them. Did you guys find anything around here?”

“No sulfur,” Sam said. “Nothing.”

“Well maybe something,” Dean said his eyes focused on the ceiling. “See? I’m working.”

I followed after Bobby and my brothers as we wormed our way into the security room. I was inclined to vote with Bobby’s idea that there was something more going on here. It was what Dad always told us: once circumstance, twice is happenstance, and three times was enemy action. Dad had learned it back in his marine days and there were a lot of parallels between that life and the one that my brothers and I had. Dad had his own bad people to fight in that life and in this one we had our own monsters. Having two crazy incidents in the same town, six days after the Devil’s gate had been opened, there was something going on here, I was sure of it.

“Anything interesting?” Dean asked.

“I don’t know yet,” Sam sighed. “It might just be a guy or it might be our guy. Wait, Aiden, roll that back.”

Aiden touched the dial rewinding the images just as Sam had asked. We watched once more as the man approached the blonde customer, touching her shoulder before gesturing to the girl who had been murdered. Aiden looked back at the rest of us, we just might have something. He scanned the image of the guy and printed it out. The rest of the day was spent going around time trying to find this guy. Finally, there was a mostly positive ID that led us to the bar. Sam was still nowhere to be found as we sat in the bars parking lot.  We were in Bobby’s car with Bobby and Dean were in the front with Aiden and I crammed in the back. I was starting to get nervous because Ruby had wanted to talk to Sam too and he had split up with the rest of us giving her the perfect opportunity.

“What time is it?” Bobby asked.

“Seven past midnight,” Aiden answered.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” Bobby questioned.

“No,” Dean scowled. “But I spent all day canvassing this stupid town with this guy’s stupid mug, and supposedly, he drinks at this stupid bar.”

“How do you really feel, Dean?” I asked.

Dean didn’t get to reply because just as he was about to Sam came out of nowhere and smacked his hand down on the glass, startling Bobby, Aiden, and I. Dean jumped, his attention shooting to the window. Sam opened the door slamming Dean’s seat forward as he got into the back, laughing all the while. Aiden and I groaned as Sam sat down, suddenly the backseat was way more cramped.

“That’s not funny,” Dean muttered.

“Yeah, all right,” Sam grinned. “So John Doe’s name is Walter Rosen. He’s from Oak Park, just west of Chicago, went missing about a week ago.”

“The night the Devil’s Gate opened?” Dean asked.

“Yup,” Sam drawled.

“Think he’s possessed?” Dean questioned.

“It’s a good bet,” Sam said. “So, what, he just walks up to someone, touches them, and they go stark raving psycho or something?”

“Those demons that got out of the gate, they’re gonna be able to do all kinds of things we haven’t seen,” Bobby sighed.

“You mean, the demons we let out?” Sam corrected.

“Shut up, Sammy, we didn’t let anything happen,” I snapped.

“Guys,” Dean called halting the beginnings of an argument.

We looked out of the car and saw Walter Rosen getting out of a car and heading towards the bar.

“All right,” Dean smirked. “Showtime.”

“Wait a minute,” Bobby frowned.

“What?” Dean complained.

“What did I just say?” Bobby growled. “We don’t know what to expect out of this guy. We should tail him until we know for sure.”

“Oh, so, he kills somebody and we just sit here with our junk in our hands?” Dean demanded.

“Some of us don’t have any junk,” I muttered.

“Hailey, just stop talking!” Dean growled.

“First you were begging me to talk to you and now you want me to shut up?” I rolled my eyes, “Make up your mind.”

“Hailey,” Dean growled, lowly, “I don’t know what you think you’re doing with this attitude but you’re skating near paper-thin ice, we clear?”

“Crystal,” I sneered.

“Hey,” Bobby scolded. “We’re no good dead and we’re not making a move until we know what the score is.”

“Uh, I don’t think that’s an option,” Sam said.

“Why not?” Bobby hissed.

Sam gestured towards the parking lot where we saw Isaac and Tamara heading to the bar.

“Damn it!” Bobby yelled smacking a hand on the steering wheel.

“Now what?” Aiden asked.

“Now we’re saving their asses,” I muttered.

“Everyone has holy water?” Bobby asked.

“Yup,” Dean answered.

“Good, y'all go, and I’ll bring the car,” Bobby said.

We got out of the car armed with canisters of holy water. We crossed the distance between the parking lot and the bar as quickly as we could. Just as we got the door, I heard Tamara begin to scream. The doors were sealed or at least they were until Bobby’s car ran through the building. We all jumped through the hole that the car had created spraying demons with holy water. There were so many demons at least seven maybe more. Sam grabbed Tamara who was screaming hysterically to throw her bodily into the car. I glanced down and saw Isaac’s dead body surrounded by blood and drain cleaner.

“Dean, come on!” Sam shouted gesturing Aiden and me to get in the car. I sat on Aiden’s lap as we both kept Tamara from lunging out again.

Suddenly the trunk slammed closed as Dean and Sam got back in the car. Bobby floored it out of the bar driving as fast as he could back to the house. When we got the house, Dean opened the trunk, taking Walter out of it and carrying him into the house. A few minutes later he was tied to a chair, seated under a Devil’s trap.

“We’re going back,” Tamara snapped.

“Absolutely not,” Aiden snorted.

“I said we’re going back!” Tamara yelled.

“Listen, just hold on a second,” Sam soothed.

“I left my husband bloody on the floor!” Tamara screamed.

“Okay, I understand that, but we can’t go back,” Sam answered.

“It’s suicide,” I muttered.

“Fine,” Tamara snapped. “Then you stay. I’m heading back to that bar.”

“I’ll go with you,” Dean volunteered.

“Are you fucking crazy?” Sam demanded.

“It’s suicide, Dean!” I shouted.

“So, what?” Dean retorted. “I’m dead already.”

“How are you going to kill them?” Sam demanded. “Can’t shoot them. You can’t stab them. They’re not just gonna wait in line to be exorcized!”

“I don’t care!” Tamara howled.

“Then _you_ go back!” I yelled.

“You don’t even know how many of them there are!” Sam growled.

“Yeah, we do,” Bobby grimaced reading a book, “There’s seven. Do you have any idea who we’re up against?”

“No,” Dean said, “Who?”

“The seven deadly sins,” Bobby answered. “Live and in the flesh.”

After a pause Dean said, “What’s in the box?”

We all glanced at Dean in confusion so he continued, “Brad Pitt? Seven? No?” Bobby ignored him and shoved the book into his hands, “What’s this?”

“Binsfeld’s Classification of Demons,” Bobby stated. “In 1589, Binsfeld ID’d the seven sins. Not just as human vices, but as actual devils.”

“The family: they were touched by sloth,” Sam gasped. “And the shopper…”

“That’s envy’s doing the customer we’ve got in the next room. I couldn’t suss it out at first, until Isaac. He was touched by an awful gluttony,” Bobby interrupted.

“I don’t give a rat’s ass if they’re the Three Stooges or the Four Tops!” Tamara shouted, “I’m gonna slaughter every last one of them!”

“We already did it your way,” Bobby growled, rounding on Tamara, “You burst in there half-cocked, and look what happened? These demons haven’t been topside in half a millennium! We’re talking medieval! Dark Ages! We’ve never faced anything close to this! So, we’re gonna take a breath, and figure out what our next move is!”

I openly gaped at Bobby during his tirade. Sure, Bobby Singer wasn’t the most patient man in the whole world. But, I could barely recall him yelling at us, even when we were kids. It took a while to get Bobby worked up like that and he was full out screaming at Tamara by the end of his rant while she just stared at him coldly.

“I am sorry for your loss,” Bobby bit out.

Tamara didn’t say a word as we moved from the kitchen area back into the room where Walter was. We surrounded him and glared down at him.

“So, you know who I am, huh?” Walter chuckled.

“We do,” Bobby nodded. “We’re not impressed.”

“Why are you here?” Sam asked. “What are you after?”

“He asked you a question,” Dean growled when Walter didn’t answer, “what do you want?”

Walter began to laugh not even attempting to answer the question. Dean narrowed his eyes before opening a flask of holy water and doused him with it. Walter squirmed and yelled in protest.

“We already have what we want,” Walter gasped.

“What’s that?” Dean questioned.

“We’re out,” Walter grinned. “We’re free. Thanks to you, my kind are everywhere. I am Legion, for we are many. So, me? I’m just celebrating. Having a little fun.”

“Fun?” Sam repeated.

“Yeah, fun,” Walter smirked. “See, some people crochet. Others golf. Me? I like to see people’s insides on their outside.”

“I’m going to put you down like a dog,” Tamara hissed.

“Please,” Walter scoffed. “You really think you’re better than me? Which one of you can cast the first stone, huh? What about you, Dean? You’re practically a walking billboard of gluttony and lust. And Tamara, all that wrath, ooh. It’s the reason you and Isaac became hunters in the first place, isn’t it? It’s so much easier to drink in the rage than to face what really happened all those years ago.”

Tamara let out a scream and managed to punch him in the face twice before Bobby and Dean restrained her.

“My point exactly,” Walter sneered. “You call us ‘sins’. We’re not sins, man! We are a natural human instinct. And you can repress and deny us all you want, but the truth is, you are just animals. Horny, greedy, hungry, violent animals. You know what? You’ll be slaughtered like animals, too. The others? They’re coming for me.”

“Maybe,” Dean replied. “But they’re not gonna find you. ‘Cause you’ll be in hell. Someone send this clown packing.”

“My pleasure,” Tamara responded smiling widely.

I watched as the demon's smile faded as we left, leaving Tamara alone. As we gave her privacy I began to hear the opening of the exorcism rite, in response, the demon in Walter began to scream and groan in agony.

“I don’t think we’re gonna have to worry about hunting them,” Bobby sighed once we were all in the next room.

“What does that mean?” Sam asked.

“I think maybe this joker’s right: they’re gonna be hunting us and they’re not gonna quit easy,” Bobby said.

“You guys, why don’t you take Tamara and head for the hills?” Dean suggested. “I’ll stay back, slow them down, buy a little time.”

My eyes turned to slits as I gazed at my eldest brother. It was one thing to sell your soul, I mean I wanted Sam the way he was now. But to openly rub it in our faces that this time next year he’d be in hell? That wasn’t cool. He was acting like he was already a lost cause that nothing we could think to do would be able to save him. That was why I had been pushing Dean’s buttons all day because he had been pushing mine. Yeah, I know, it wasn’t exactly mature of me but it sure as hell made me feel a little better.

“You’re insane, Dean,” Sam fumed. “Just forget it, okay?”

“Sam’s right,” Bobby said firmly.

“There’s six of them,” Dean growled.

“There’s six of us!” I protested.

“And there’s no place to run where they won’t find us,” Bobby said.

“Look, if we’re going to go down, we’re going down together, all right?” Sam questioned.

“Let’s do this.” Aiden whooped.

Suddenly a strong wind ripped through the room, blowing out all the candles. Tamara strolled back in tossing the book aside.

“Demon’s out of the guy,” Tamara called over her shoulder.

“And the guy?” Sam asked.

“He didn’t make it,” Tamara responded.

I glared at her retreating back before we began to get ready, drawing extra Devil’s trap and turning nearly every water source we had available into holy water. We were all waiting in different rooms. I was beginning to get anxious because once the sun went down I heard Isaac, or what would be a demon animating his corpse, begin to shout at Tamara. I knew she had caved when there was a thundering of footsteps coming up the stars.

I walked out of my room and saw that Dean was tangling what could only be the demon of lust. He was kissing her passionately before he suddenly spun dunking her into the full bath of holy water. He nodded at me and I went to go to Sam. I got into his room seconds before three demons did.

“Here’s Johnny!” One of the demon’s smirked. He stopped suddenly and looked up, “Come on. Do you really think something like that is gonna fool something like me? I mean, me?”

“Let me guess: you’re pride,” Sam growled.

Pride grinned before waving his hand so that the ceiling cracked, breaking the protective circle

“The root of all sin,” Pride grinned. “And you are Hailey and Sam Winchester. That’s right I’ve heard of both of you. We’ve all heard that you, Sam, are the prodigy, the Boy King. Looking at you now, I’ve gotta tell you: don’t believe the hype. Do you think I’m gonna bow to a cut-rate, piss-poor human like you? I have my pride, after all. And now, with Azazel dead, I guess I don’t really have to do a damn thing now, do I? You and your sister are fair game now, boy. And it’s open season.”

We were backed up against the wall when Pride suddenly lunged tearing Sam away from my side and punching him in the face. The girl demon rounded on me and I growled low in my throat as I ducked a punch. But by ducking the punch I put myself in the perfect position to get strangled as the demon showed, grabbing me by the neck and pulling me into the air. I choked and struggled to get loose seeing Sam in the exact same position. Suddenly, Ruby entered the room killing both of the demons holding us. I crumbled to the ground massaging my throat as Sam gaped at her.

“Who the hell are you?” Sam demanded.

“I’m the girl who just saved your ass,” Ruby smirked. “See you around, Sam.”

“Wait!” Sam called.

Ruby ignored Sam walking away. When Dean and Aiden came back in we all made sure that we were all okay. We slipped to the floor after we had been checked over for injuries giving into sleep. The next morning, we had three bodies to bury, Dean and Sam dug the grave. I poured the salt while Aiden lit the match, throwing it into the pit. We were staring down at the fire when Bobby joined us.

“You think she’s gonna be all right?” Sam asked.

I looked over to where Tamara was standing over Isaac’s body, watching him burn away.

“No,” Dean sighed. “Definitely not.”

“Bobby, that knife, what kind of blade could kill a demon?” Sam asked.

“That chick helped you out too?” Aiden questioned.

“Yesterday, I’d say there was no such thing,” Bobby sighed.

“I’m just gonna ask: who was that masked chick?” Dean questioned. “Actually, the most troubling question would be, ‘How come a girl can fight better than you?’”

“Dude,” I growled.

“If you want a troubling question, I’ve got one for you,” Sam replied.

“What’s that?” Dean asked.

“If we let out the seven deadly sins, what else is roaming around now?” Sam asked.

“You’re right,” Dean frowned. “That is troubling.”

“See you guys around,” Tamara whispered going off in the direction of her car.

“Tamara,” Bobby called, “the world just got a lot scarier. Be careful.”

“You too,” Tamara replied.

“Keep your eyes peeled for omens,” Bobby ordered us, “I’ll do the same.”

“You got it,” Dean said.

“Now what?” Aiden grumbled.

“We get out of here,” Dean said. “Find some food, get a place to crash.”

“That sounds awesome,” Sam agreed.

I walked with my brothers to the impala and glanced back at the house we had stayed in. The world really had gotten scarier. Dean was going to hell and so far we had no idea how to stop it. People believed we were personally responsible for letting all those demons get loose. Could things get any worse? Yes, yes, they could and they would, it was only a matter of time.

 


	23. Panic Switch

 

“Oh, look two of them waking up,” Someone cackled above me.

A whimper rushed through my parted lips as I took a deep breath. My ribs protested the movement and I groaned. I opened my eyes wincing at the bright light. I groaned in frustration. I was bound to a chair and gagged. Abby and Lucy were sitting next to me. They had been beaten horribly and were in the same position I was in. Abby’s green eyes were open and glazed with fear. Her blond hair was tinged red with blood and bruises covered her pallid skin. Lucy wasn’t in any better shape, sagging against the ropes that kept her tied to the chair, still unconscious. I was quickly becoming tired of waking up in unfamiliar places.

“You did it,” Another voice whispered. “You’ve captured The Trinity.”

“They were just sitting in plain sight,” The other demon laughed. “We took them easily. I don’t think the hunters know what they have in their arsenal. The Trinity of all things and they let them go in some place where there was no protection.”

I squirmed in my bindings struggling to find a point of weakness. Apparently, these demons had paid attention in knots class because they were tight and unyielding.

“Little Winchester anxious to get started?” A different demon taunted.

He smacked me across the face before pulling the bandana out of my mouth. Judging by how many voices I had heard there was only two of them.

“Cristo,” I snarled.

“Bitch,” One of them growled backhanding me across the face.

“You’re lucky I’m tied up.”

When the demon who hit me, moved to do so again, the other demon got in between shoving the first demon back.

“Enough. We have our orders.” The second demon then turned to us, “Now, you girls be good. We’ll be back soon.”

The two demons left quickly, leaving the three of us together.

“Did you hear what they called us?” Abby questioned her voice rough, “The Trinity?”

“Yeah, I know,” I sighed. “You okay?”

“Hold on a minute,” Abby whispered.

Suddenly Abby’s green eyes began to glow, I smelled something burning seconds before the ropes keeping Abby tied burned away. When her hands came out behind her I looked at her in surprise. I caught sight of her wrists and winced. She had burned the metal hot enough for it to melt but it had burned herself in the process. Abby got up shakily moving forward before standing in front of me.

“This’ll hurt.”

“Just do it.”

Needing no other invitation fire leaped out of Abby’s fingers burning my restraints and the handcuffs. I hissed as the hot metal bit into my wrist, but it felt a lot better not to be tied up. We both moved onto Lucy. I nodded for Abby to free Lucy while I attempted to get her awake. When Lucy was free we let her stay seated.

“What are we going to do?” Abby asked.

“I got an idea,” I grinned.

I looked for spray paint of something that I could draw and the floor. I pursed my lips when I didn’t find anything.

“We have to get out of here,” I sighed. “Cell phone?”

“No,” Lucy said.

“I don’t know where mine is either,” Abby frowned.

“Great,” I muttered.

“How long has it been?” Lucy questioned. “You both look horrible.”

“Honey, you don’t look too good yourself,” Abby responded.

“The doors not locked, let’s go,” I responded.

I frowned as both Abby and I helped Lucy to her feet and moved quickly through the building when we emerged I looked for a car and found none. I did, however, find a phone. I quickly dialed Sam’s cell phone.

“Winchester,” Sam answered.

“Sammy?” I whispered.

“Hailey? Where are you?”

“Oh, god, Sammy, I don’t know.”

“Hails, just calm down, it’s okay.”

“Demons took us. Sam, they kept calling us The Trinity.”

“Well, there are three of you.”

“I don’t think that’s what they were referring to.”

“Hailey, stay put, we’re coming soon.”

“Sammy? How long have we been missing.”

“A week.”

“Oh, my god, Hailey!” Lucy cried. “They’re coming back.”

I hung up the pay phone and together Lucy, Abby and I began to run moving, as far away from the building and running in the direction we thought was right. Fear gripped my heart and I had a hard time thinking of anything else. The last time I had been taken by a demon I had been thrown into a coma. Memories of that day flooded through my mind only this time I had friends to worry about too. I tried to remember the last week but I kept blanking. The last thing I remembered was the motel room we stayed in the day after battling the Seven Deadly Sins.

_When I had woken up, Sam and Dean weren’t inside; instead, they were outside the motel room arguing with each other if the sharp muffled tones were anything to go by. I crept up to the door and listened._

_“So, where to?”_

_“I don’t know. I was thinking Louisiana, maybe.”_

_“It’s a little early for Marti Gras, isn’t it?”_

_“Well, I was talking to Tamara, and she mentioned this hoodoo priest just outside Shreveport that might be able to help us out. You know, with your demon deal.”_

_“Nah.”_

_“Nah? What does that mean, nah?”_

_“Sam, no hoodoo spell is gonna break this deal, all right? It’s a goose chase.”_

_“We don’t know that, Dean.”_

_“Yes, we do. Forget it. She can’t help.”_

_“Look, it’s worth…”_

_“We’re not going and that’s that. What about Reno, huh?”_

_“You know what? I’ve had it. I’ve been bending over backward trying to be nice to you, and I don’t care anymore.”_

_“That didn’t last long.”_

_“Yeah, well, you know what? I’ve been busting my ass, trying to keep you alive, Dean. And you act like you couldn’t care less. What, you got some kind of death wish or something?”_

_“No, it’s not like that.”_

_“Then, what’s it like, Dean?”_

_“Sam.”_

_“Please, tell me.”_

_“We trap the crossroads demon? Trick it? Try to Welch our way out of the deal in any way? You die. Okay? You die. Those are the terms. There’s no way out of it. If you try to find a way, so help me God, I’m gonna stop you.”_

_“How could you make that deal, Dean?”_

_“Because I couldn’t live with you dead. Couldn’t do it.”_

_“What, so now, I live and you die.”_

_“That’s the general idea.”_

_“Yeah, well, you’re a hypocrite, Dean. How did you feel when Dad sold his soul for you? ‘Cause I was there and I remember. You were twisted and broken. And now, you go and do the same thing to me. What you did was selfish.”_

_“Yeah, you’re right. It was selfish but I’m okay with that.”_

_“I’m not.”_

_“Tough. After everything I’ve done for this family, I think I’m entitled. Truth is, I’m tired, Sam. And I don’t know, it’s like there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”_

_He was tired? He decided to make the worst deal with a demon that I had ever heard of and he doesn’t want us messing with it because he’s tired. There was also the fact that Sam could die if we tampered with it. Why had he agreed to that? And what were we going to do to get him out of it? Was there anything we could do? I found that once again those tears were way to close to the surface as a few spilled out of my eyes and down my cheeks._

_Didn’t Dean realize how bad this whole thing was? We needed Sam just as much as we needed him but Dean was the one person all of us could always count on. Dean would do anything and everything possible for his family. Only I don’t think that Dean realized that we would do everything for him as well. Didn’t he realize that this was breaking the very foundation on what made the Winchesters’ a family in the first place? Didn’t he see how guilty Sam was? How worried and anxious Aiden was? Or how confused I felt?_

_It wouldn’t kill Dean to show a little devotion to himself. He always put us first, always. And now when it would be completely understandable for him to look for a way to save his own skin: he refused? Why would he do that? How could he do that? Did he know what hell was? There had to be some sort of loophole. There always was but the wiggle room we’d have would be tight. Messing with it in an obvious way and Sam would die and Dean would probably still go to hell._

_I was so focused on my thoughts that I failed to notice that the door was beginning to open. I wasn’t aware of Sam and Dean coming back into the room until the motel room’s door smacked me in the head. I fell back down hard on my ass; letting out a sound that was reminiscent of the sound a dog would make when its tail was stepped on. My hand fell to my head as I nursed the bump._

_“Hailey?” Sam gasped._

_I was barely aware that Sam was now hovering over my frame trying to see if I was hurt. He was prying my hand away from my head and gently nudged the bump, I smacked his hands away with a growl._

_“Quit fussing, Sammy,” I complained._

_“Were you eavesdropping?” Dean growled._

_“Obviously,” I scoffed in a tone that was inches away from being belligerent._

_Dean glared down at me as Sam helped me back to my feet. Aiden was gazing at us, his eyes at half-mast. We had probably woken him up. He shot us all a nasty glower before rolling over and burrowing under the covers. I rolled my eyes before I noticed that someone had grabbed my bicep and I was being dragged out of the motel room. Judging by the fact that Aiden was sleeping, and Sam was gaping at me, it was Dean who was pulling us out of the room._

_“Something on your mind, Dean?” I questioned lightly as the motel room slammed shut and I was dragged into the parking lot._

_“You wanna continue being a smartass or actually tell me what’s going on in that head of yours?”_

_“I’ll continue being a smartass, thanks.”_

_Dean’s eyes turned flinty as the rest of his expression became a mimic of solid steel. I don’t think Dean appreciated his own smartass and sarcastic attitude being thrown back in his face, which exactly what I was doing. If this wasn’t playing with fire, I didn’t know what was._

_“Hailey.”_

_“What? What could you possibly want me to say? That you made the one deal that sounds completely airtight? That despite everything half of me is glad you made the deal in the first place and the other half can’t even imagine a life without you in it? That I’m already in mourning? That the only thing that bothers me more than you not being here a year from now is not the fact that you’re dying, but that you’re going to hell. Hell, Dean! You don’t deserve that, not after everything you’ve done for this family. Not after saving every person you possibly can. Not for making sure that our family was a family.”_

_“Hails.”_

_“No. Don’t, Dean, just don’t.”_

_I was crying far too much lately. I felt like I could put lifetime to shame with the number of tears that I have shed in the last couple of months. I was a Winchester for Christ sakes. We were supposed to man up and repress all emotions until we blew up so violently a tornado would be calm in comparison. That was how it was supposed to be, instead I cried like a toddler over every little thing. Granted two people close to me had died within months of each other, I had almost lost Sam, and now I was going to lose Dean?_

_“It’s going to be okay, baby.”_

_I was so distracted by my own tears that I had barely noticed Dean closing the distance between us and pulling me into his embrace._

_“No, it’s not,” I growled. I pushed against the embrace, punching at him, doing anything to get Dean to let me go but he never did. “You can’t fix this!”_

_“I know.”_

_“No, you don’t know!”_

_“Talk to me, Hails. Tell me what’s been going on. Ads says you’ve been having nightmares again.”_

_“Fucking tattletale.”_

_“Hailey.”_

_“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”_

_“Nothing happened in Cold Oak that was traumatizing?”_

_“I’m **not** talking about Cold Oak.”_

_“I can’t help if I don’t know what’s going on.”_

_“Nothing is going to help! Dean, you can’t help! Okay? I’m the one who has nightmares of Trevor’s death, of the accident. Why not add something else to the mix? I killed people, Dean. Is that what you wanted to hear? That I’m the cold-blooded murderer that Dad warned you about! I’m no better than the things we hunt and I’m waiting for someone to realize that!”_

_“No one’s going to realize anything. You wanna know why? Because you didn’t do anything wrong. You killed because you had to.”_

_“Hey, you guys?” Sam shouted from the room. “Jo called and said it might be a good idea to head over.”_

_“Then let’s go!” Dean retorted._

_I moved to get my duffel packed up when Dean placed his hand on my shoulder. I turned to him questionably._

_“Stop with the attitude, all right, Hails?” Dean sighed._

_“Okay,” I whispered. “I’m sorry, Dean.”_

_“I know,” Dean replied pulling me into his side as we walked back into our motel room._

_“Hay, catch!” Aiden shouted._

_Luckily, I had faster reflexes than most otherwise my duffel bag would’ve smacked me right in the face. I caught and then dodged my other one that came on its heels._

_“Ads!” Dean scolded._

_“What?” Aiden replied innocently._

_Dean glared at him and Aiden shrugged before shouldering his own duffel bags. In the next few minutes, we were all packed up and ready to go. I climbed into the backseat with Aiden following at my heels. Luckily, this wasn’t going to be a very long drive because we were already in Nebraska. I was used to sitting down in the impala for hours on end, but it was always nice when things were close by._

_It took us twenty minutes to get to the roadhouse and for a fairly early time, there were a lot of cars in the lot. It was probably because hunters were sticking together after the gate had been opened. We all walked inside, and it definitely looked like a hunter’s safe house. There were guns, knives, and buckets of salt and holy water on every available surface._

_My brothers were standing at their full heights eyeing the other people in the room. I noticed how they had formed a triangle of protection around me as they walked into the Roadhouse. I was trying to move around them, but Sam and Aiden kept me pinned to their sides with Dean standing in front of me. It was probably a good idea since word had probably spread about us being at the Gates when they had been snapped open. Hell, a lot of people thought it was our fault._

_“Hey, you guys!” Jo greeted breaking up some of the tension in the room._

_“Hey, Jo,” Dean grinned._

_“Why was it a good idea for us to come over?” Aiden asked._

_“As you can see hunters from everywhere have been showing up here,” Jo said waving her arm around the room. “We’re strategizing and sharing info.”_

_“And?” Sam questioned._

_“And, it might be a good idea for you guys to come because people think that it’s your fault,” Jo hissed._

_“We can take care of ourselves, Jojo,” Aiden scoffed._

_“She has a point you guys,” I protested._

_I glanced over at Dean who had yet to give a ruling on the situation. As far as hunting went it wasn’t normal for us to hunt with other people. Our father had taught us that. He had drilled into us that the only people that we could really trust was family. That was at the beginning of Dad’s hunting career, as he got older he did go to the Roadhouse for help occasionally but Dad was more of the go-at-it-alone type. I liked to think we weren’t like that but we were. Hell, we all tried to do things without each other all the time, which resulted in all of us having different contacts. Although, with all the people that I knew by myself, I didn’t see any familiar face except for Jo._

_“I think we can stay for a day or two,” Dean finally replied._

_“Really?” Sam, Aiden, and I questioned at once._

_“Uh, yeah,” Dean nodded. “We might as well.”_

_That seemed to placate both Sam and Aiden as they walked with Dean over to one friendlier looking group of people. It was hard to tell when and if you ever ran into the hunters that were here. It was nearly impossible to meet every single hunter, but word traveled fast and the Winchester name was fairly infamous thanks to our father. I was about to walk over to where my brothers were sitting when the front door opened._

_“Hailey?” A voice called._

_I turned on my heel and my eyes widened in shock._

_“Lucy?” I whispered. “Abby?”_

_“Oh, my god, Hailey!” Lucy yelped before she closed the distance between us and hugged me close._

_Sure, I had only met them a few weeks ago but we were close. I guess, what happened in Cold Oak had cemented our friendships. They kept me from killing Jake and vice versa. They were cool girls and now they were learning everything they could to be hunters in their own right._

_“How’d the salt and burn go?” I asked._

_“Easier than I thought it would be,” Lucy answered honestly._

_“It helps when you have a girl who can conjure fire as your backup,” Abby grinned._

_“Yeah, the spirit didn’t count on that after it tossed the lighter away,” Lucy replied._

_“Hey, you guys,” Natasha smiled._

_“Tasha,” I greeted hugging her too._

_“Hey,” Abby and Lucy smiled._

_They had met back when the gates had been opened. Natasha was probably the one who was helping them learn the necessary information that hunters needed to know._

_“You’re right,” Natasha smirked._

_“I thought we agreed that you would stay out of my head?” I frowned._

_“Then don’t broadcast your thoughts, Winchester,” Natasha retorted breezily. “Hailey was wondering who was helping you guys with all the hunting stuff.”_

_“Oh, okay,” Lucy and Abby said._

_“Do you guys want to go out to eat?” I asked._

_“Sure,” Lucy replied as Abby nodded._

_“We can take my car,” Natasha volunteered._

_“Just let me tell my brothers,” I said._

_I wandered back over to where my brothers were sitting, “Hey, can I go out with a few friends?”_

_“Who are these friends?” Dean asked._

_“Natasha, Abby, and Lucy,” I responded._

_“All right, be back before dark,” Dean said._

Only we hadn’t been back before dark, that much had been obvious. The worst thing that was that Natasha wasn’t with us. Was she okay? Had the demons just taken us and left her? Or had she been killed in the crossfire? Whatever this Trinity thing was it didn’t sound good. There was adoration in both demon’s voices and who knew how they’d react once they realized we were gone.

**Dean’s Point of View**

It had been over a week since Hailey and her two friends from Cold Oak had gone missing. The Roadhouse was going in defensive mode. A mode that I hadn’t seen since I was little, I didn’t like it then and I didn’t trust it now. When Natasha came stumbling in, covered in a mixture of blood and mud, people had freaked out. Aiden had caught her seconds before she had crumbled to the ground.

When Natasha had come to, she had told us what had happened and that made me worried all over again. Demons had swarmed the place, beating her up before others took Hailey, Lucy, and Abby.

“Dean, she just called,” Sam shouted running from the backroom. “She’s okay.”

“You sure?” I questioned.

“She’s freaked as hell but she’s fine,” Sam replied. “Ash traced the number. It’s a pay phone from the edge of town.”

“Let’s go,” I ordered.

Aiden, Sam, and I ran out of the Roadhouse and into the impala. The doors didn’t even get a chance to close before I had floored it out of the parking lot and towards the edge of town. Who knew how many demons were close to where Hailey and her friends had managed to escape and I didn’t want to give them a chance to get to them again.

“Dean!” Aiden shouted pointing through the backseat to where two girls were attempting to restrain the third.

I swerved the car near them and leaped out moving to them as fast as I could.

“What happened?” I demanded talking to the blonde girl.

“She just started freaking out,” The blonde responded.

“It’s called a panic attack,” The other one sighed. “I think what happened a few months ago is messing with her head.”

“How’d you know that?” I demanded roughly.

“She told us,” The blonde sniped back.

“Dee?” A small voice whimpered.

I flinched and looked into wide, terrified, sapphire blue eyes. Instantly I saw the scared three-year-old girl who had found a violent imp that liked to hide in her closest. What made me worried was after we had removed the imp she had demanded to know why we weren’t scared and what we weren’t telling her. The three-year-old then and the eighteen-year-old now were nowhere near the same person, Hailey had grown so much that it was frightening to see her former self in those big baby blues of hers.

Abby and Lucy moved to the side so that I could pick Hailey up. Aiden took her from my arm and helped her in the back. All three girls had their fair share of scrapes and bruises and what I didn’t like most was the haunted look in all of their eyes.

**Hailey’s Point of View**

I had a panic attack. I couldn’t believe it, after everything I had seen, everything I had gone through, I chose now to have a panic attack? And, of course, amidst a panic attack was when my brothers had found us. I grimaced as Dean had picked me up and placed me in Aiden’s arms before we drove back to the Roadhouse.

Before I could move when the car had stopped, Aiden had picked me up and brought me into the Roadhouse with everyone following in at heels. Aiden placed me on top of the bar, where Ellen had a first aid kit ready and waiting. Abby and Lucy sat on either side of me. Dean cleaned out my cuts while Sam and Aiden helped Abby and Lucy. Even though I knew I was safe, my breathing became ragged as my heart began to pound.

“Hails?” Dean whispered his hands grabbing my wrists because they had begun to claw at my neck. My breath catching in my throat it felt like something was choking me.

“Dean, she’s having a panic attack,” Sam gasped.

“What do we do?” Dean retorted.

“Hails, you’re okay,” Abby whispered. “They can’t hurt us anymore.”

I nodded trying to calm my beating heart. I grimaced as Dean took the opportunity to finish cleaning and bandaging my cuts before he kept a steady hand on my knee. When I had calmed down, Jo gave me a cup of tea as my brothers looked at me seriously.

“What the hell happened?” Dean demanded

“They just swooped in,” I said. “Took us, when we came to they were bragging.”

“Why?” Sam asked.

“Because they had bagged The Trinity,” I whispered

“Did you say The Trinity?” Natasha gasped.

“Yeah?” I replied.

“Oh, my god,” Natasha gaped. “How could I have missed this?”

“Natasha?” Sam questioned. “What’s going on?”

“The Trinity is a legend,” Natasha explained. “Or I thought it was. It’s rumored that it’s the key.”

“Key to what?” Aiden questioned.

“The key,” Natasha said. “They are considered to be one of the deciding factors on who will win this war.”

“What?” Sam asked.

“The Trinity is a key, Sam,” Natasha said. “They can go our way or the other. And if it is them, and it looks like it is, then the demons are going to fight like hell to get them on their side or kill them.”

“What?” Aiden gasped.

“The legend goes that when Lucifer is set to rise when Hell’s army has been unleashed there are three girls: all are eighteen, all born the same day.”

“December 21…” I started

“1989,” Abby and Lucy interrupted.

“Oh, my god,” Sam muttered.

“We’re The Trinity,” I gasped.

“It makes sense,” Abby shrugged. “We’re all psychics. Sam’s meant to lead the army. Why wouldn’t we have something that could end really badly too.”

“Explains why we trusted each other so fast,” I shrugged before looking at my brothers. They all looked stunned.

“Uh, you guys?” Ash called.

I looked over and noticed Ash was camped out on the other side of the bar. His brow was furrowed as he read something from his laptop. Dean moved to look over Ash’s shoulder and then he titled his head before his eyes shone with realization.

“We need to get to Indiana,” Dean ordered, “right now.”

“Why?” Sam asked.

“Do you remember Lisa Braeden?”

“Should I even ask?” Sam grimaced.

“Remember that road trip I took?” Dean responded. “Gosh, about eight years ago? You all were in Orlando while you and Dad wrapped up that Banshee thing.”

“Five states, five days?” Sam replied. “Right?”

“Kind of,” Dean smirked. “Although I spend most of my time in Lisa Braeden’s loft.”

“You want us to go all the way to Cicero, Indiana, so you can hook up with some random chick?” Aiden frowned.

“She was a yoga teacher,” Dean huffed. “It was the bendiest weekend of my life. Come on, have a heart, huh?”

“I really didn’t need to hear that,” I sighed.

“Besides there’s a case there, a man falls on his own power saw and there’s been other random accidents all over this neighborhood,” Dean said. “Ones that haven’t made the paper.”

“Digging in police files again, Ash?” I teased hoping of the counter.

“I got bored,” Ash shrugged.

“Let’s get to Indiana,” Dean ordered.

We said quick goodbyes to everyone before we all piled back in the impala. I wondered what we would encounter at Cicero. All these accidents sounded just like accidents, randomly weird accidents sure but weird shit happened all the time. Then again, we had looked into less and if Dean wanted to see ghosts of layings past, who was I to stand in the way? Dean was apparently more anxious to see this girl than I had previously thought. We were barely in Cicero when Dean pulled over and kicked us all out of the car, barely giving us a chance to grab our bags before he drove down the street.

“Nice,” I muttered.

“At least the motel’s right there,” Sam shrugged.

I rolled my eyes as Sam bought us two adjoining rooms. It took about a half hour to draw the salt lines as well as place the charms on all four corners of the room. After we had finished, Aiden had chosen to take a nap, since he really couldn’t sleep comfortably in the impala. I was stuck watching TV until Sam came into the room.

“You hungry?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” I replied.

I wrote a quick note to Aiden just in case he woke up before we got back. I followed Sam to the nearest diner. We sat down and even though we were both hungry, food was the last thing on our mind. Our brothers meant well but they didn’t understand the whole psychic children thing. Just when we thought that our lives couldn’t get any weirder, we find out that Sam’s supposed to lead some demon army to kick start the apocalypse and I’m a member of a ‘key’ that decides whether or not the demons will win in the first place.

“Hails?” Sam called. “Hailey!”

“What?”

“You with me?”

“Sorry. What’s up?”

“Dean’s deal? He’s dying in a year.”

“No, he’s not. He’s going to hell, there’s a difference.”

Sam glowered at me and I rolled my eyes.

“Sam, I don’t know what we’re going to do. But we’re going to find something, okay?”

“Hello, Sam,” A voice smiled.

My head shot up as a blonde wiggled her way into our booth

“You’ve been following me since Lincoln,” Sam stated.

“Not much gets by you, huh?” Ruby laughed as she snagged a fry and popped it in her mouth, “These are amazing it’s like deep-fried crack. Try some.”

“That knife you had you can kill demons with that thing?” Sam asked.

“Sure comes in handy when I have to swoop in and save the damsel in distress.”

“Where’d you get it?” Sam questioned.

“Sky mall,” Ruby replied.

“Why are you following us?” Sam demanded.

“I’m interested in you both,” Ruby shrugged.

“Why?” Sam growled.

“Because you’re tall,” Ruby grinned. “I love a tall man, then there’s the whole antichrist thing, which you both share.”

“Excuse me?” Sam snapped.

“You know: generations of psychic kids, the yellow-eyed demon rounds you up, a _Celebrity Deathmatch_ ensues and you, Sam, are the sole survivor. And, as it turns out your little lieutenants is The Trinity themselves.”

“How do you know about that?” Sam asked.

“I’m a good hunter,” Ruby said. “So, Yellow Eyes had some pretty big plans for the two of you.”

“Had being the key word,” Sam frowned.

“Oh, yeah, that’s right,” Ruby nodded. “Ding, dong, the demon’s dead. Good job with that. Doesn’t change the fact that you’re special. In that Anthony Michael Hall, ESP-vision kind of way.”

Ruby reached over and pulled a small plate close to her before she poured a pool of ketchup in the center of that. She put the ketchup bottle back down and continued to steal Sam’s French fries.

“No, no that stuff’s not happening anymore,” Sam retorted. “Not since he died.”

“Oh, really?” Ruby asked shooting a smirk my way, “Well, I’m thinking you’re still a pretty big deal. I mean, after all that business with your mom.”

“What about our mom?” I growled.

“You know, what happened to her friends?” Ruby prodded.

Sam and I exchanged a confused glance, which caused Ruby to smirk, “You don’t know? Well, looks like you two have a little bit of catching up to do. Why don’t you look into your mom’s pals and then give me a call, and we’ll talk again.”

She grabbed Sam’s hand and wrote her number on his palm. He looked at it in surprise as she slid out of the booth and left. The bell on the door rang as Ruby left and Sam was still looking at the number. Before I could comment, Sam’s phone began to ring. Sam glanced at his phone before he mouthed Dean to me and then answered the phone.

“Hello?” Sam asked.

“Dude, there really is a job here,” Dean hissed.

“That’s what Ash said, Dean,” Sam responded.

“Yeah, well, boy genius failed to mention how all these people died,” Dean scoffed, “all these people are dying within this Morning Hill gated community: people falling off of ladders and drowning in their Jacuzzis all over the neighborhood.”

“That’s weird,” Sam replied.

“Yeah, something’s up,” Dean sighed. “Something these nice, big gates can’t protect them from.”

“Well, what are we going to do?” Sam asked.

“I’ll meet you guys at the motel,” Dean stated, “and there’s something I have to tell you when we’re all together.”

“Dean, what is it?” Sam questioned.

“I said when we’re all together, Sammy,” Dean reproached softly, “I’ll see you soon.”

Sam and I once again exchanged confused glances as we stood simultaneously. Sam paid for the food we hadn’t touched before we began to walk back to the motel room. We wandered in seconds before I heard the roar of the impala’s engine. Aiden was no longer sleeping but the shower was running. I wandered over and banged on the door a few times telling him that Dean had something to tell us.

When Aiden came out a few minutes later, rubbing a towel over his wet hair as some water droplets soaked his white tee shirt. He dropped down on the bed next to Sam as well all looked at Dean who looked fairly nervous.

“What’s wrong, dude?” Aiden asked. “Did Gumby girl turn you down?”

“Shut up, Ads,” Dean snapped.

“What’s wrong, Dean?” I asked.

“Lisa has a kid, Ben, he’s eight,” Dean said.

“You think he’s yours?” Sam questioned.

“Uh, yeah, the math checks out,” Dean grumbled.

“Well, what did Lisa say?” I asked.

“She said he wasn’t,” Dean sighed, “But this kid is exactly like me. He likes AC/DC, he loves classic cars, and you know what he said when I asked him about his moon bounce? He said it’s awesome because chicks think they’re awesome.”

“What are we going to do?” Sam glowered.

“We’re going to take care of whatever is hurting those people,” Dean ordered. “Ideas?”

“Haunting?” Aiden suggested

“No,” I shook my head, “it’s different people and different places. The only thing in common is this community and the fact that everyone deceased had children.”

“Maybe they built in a burial ground or something?” Sam responded.

“Yeah,” Dean frowned. “Maybe. Hailey, you and I are going to scope the neighborhood out. Sam, you and Aiden start researching find anything shady that has happened in there or what use to be there and call us if you find anything.”

“All right,” Aiden nodded.

He and Sam got up and moved towards their computers concentrating on the federal sites as well as any sights that Ash may have recommended in the past. I pulled on my sweatshirt as I followed Dean out of the motel room. It was a fairly nice fall day and the ride in the impala was of the short and silent variety. I wondered vaguely if this kid Dean had found actually was his son. It made sense, it had been eight years since Lisa and Dean had hooked up based on the glow my brother had when he finally joined all of us in Orlando. Hell, he was practically skipping, He had been gloating to Sam and Aiden about that weekend until I had overheard and Dad put the kibosh on the entire conversation and any future conversations that were about sexual encounters when I was in hearing distance. But, I digress, the math added up and if Ben was Dean’s what would happen?

We parked the car in what looked to be a park and I climbed out closing the door behind me. I moved to cross the street, when I glanced behind me, immediately noticing that Dean was making no moves to follow after me. I glanced at the direction Dean was looking in and saw a little kid sitting on a bench looking upset. Dean was walking over to him and I followed after him.

“Hey, Ben,” Dean called.

Ben’s head shot up as he glanced at Dean and then looked behind him spotting me, “Hey, you were at my party.”

“Yeah, I’m Dean,” Dean greeted sitting down next to Ben. I stood next to my brother and looked at Ben staring unabashedly. Ben looked exactly like Dean did when he was eight years old down to the exact mannerisms, it was uncanny and a little disconcerting, “Is everything okay? Something wrong?”

I noticed that Ben held a game case, but it was empty. Dean looked up and saw a group of boys nearby playing with a game, most likely Ben’s game. Dean’s gaze narrowed as he addressed Ben once more, “Is that your game they’re playing with?”

“Ryan Humphrey borrowed it, and now, he won’t give it back,” Ben mumbled.

My eyes wandered over to the group of boys, my eyes landing on the somewhat chubby boy playing with the Gameboy or whatever it was. My eyes narrowed, despite just meeting Ben, I felt the same sense of protectiveness that my brothers must get if I was in trouble. Dean seemed to reach the same conclusions I had.

“Do you want me to go?” Dean offered.

“No!” Ben responded sharply. “Don’t go over there. Only bitches send a grown-up.”

I grinned at that and noticed that Dean looked pleased, “You’re not wrong.”

“And I’m not a bitch,” Ben nodded. Yup, duplicate of Dean all right.

“Is that Humphrey?” Dean asked pointing at the chubby boy, “The one who needs to lay off the burgers?” I watched as Ben smiled, “Hm.”

“Dean, maybe you shouldn’t…”

“Who are you?” Ben frowned.

“Ben, this is Hailey,” Dean introduced. “She’s my little sister.”

“Hi,” I grinned.

Ben’s eyes met mine before he moved his eyes down my body. That’s terrific, I might’ve just been sized up by what could very well be my nephew. And he was an eight-year-old. I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms, clearing my throat. Ben had the decency to look somewhat contrite has his eyes found Dean’s. Dean then taught Ben how he could get his game back without involving a grown-up. I sat down on the bench next to my brother and shook my head. Dean gave me a look before we both watched as Ben approached the group of boys. After a moment Ben turned back to us and Dean gave him a thumbs-up. After a few seconds of conversation, Ben turned back around seemingly defeated before he wheeled back around kicking Humphrey in the nuts, he crumbled to the ground and Ben took his game back.

Dean let out a low whistle as Ben came back looking completely ecstatic. I have to admit it was pretty awesome.

“Dude, that was awesome!” Ben whooped.

“Up high!” Dean smiled. “Nice work.”

They high-fived and Ben gave me a smile as well. I glanced over his head and saw an irate brunette come storming over to us. She had straight hair and pretty blue eyes.

“Benjamin Isaac Braeden,” The woman fumed. “What’s gotten into you?”

“He stole my game!” Ben protested.

“So, you kick him?” The woman snapped. “Since when does that…” She then noticed my brother and me. She gave me a confused glance before pinning a furious look at Dean, who looked up guiltily, “did you tell my son to beat up that kid?”

“What?” Dean cajoled. “Somebody had to teach him how to kick a bully in the nads.”

“Who asked you to teach him anything?” Lisa growled.

“Just relax,” Dean soothed.

“What are you even still doing here?” Lisa demanded. “We had one weekend together, a million years ago. You don’t know me and you have no business with my son.”

“Lisa,” Dean responded.

“Just leave us alone,” Lisa growled.

She grabbed Ben’s hand and began to pull him away with her. Suddenly, he broke free and ran back hugging Dean. Dean seemed shocked for a moment before he hugged him back.

“Thanks,” Ben smiled looking up at Dean.

Ben went back to his mom and they walked away. Dean looked hurt and confused for a moment before he noticed that three other kids standing in the playground. They all turned to look at him. They gave us a chilling stare that no normal child could even think of making. Dean and I exchanged a glance before we got back in the impala. I think we had seen enough.

When we got back to the motel room it was obvious that both Aiden and Sam were researching, they just weren’t researching for this hunt. I came in first giving them more than enough time to minimize the screens before Dean came in. Dean had made it perfectly clear a few weeks ago that he was more than content (or so he seemed) to let this deal unfold. We weren’t so we did every research we could behind Dean’s back. Smart? Not really. Were we desperate enough to risk Dean’s wrath when he found out? Hell yes.

“There’s something wrong with the kids in this town,” Dean announced as I collapsed on one of the beds.

“We have a theory,” Aiden replied.

“Yeah?” Dean questioned.

“Yup,” Sam drawled. “What do you know about changelings?”

“Evil monster babies?” Dean responded.

“No, not necessarily babies,” Sam corrected.

“They’re kids,” Dean said. “Creepy, stare-at-you-like-you’re-lunch kids.”

“There’s one in every victim's house,” Sam stated.

“How do we kill them?” I asked.

“Fire,” Dean grinned.

“Awesome,” I smirked.

Aiden and began to make the flame throwers while Sam and Dean sat at the table. Sam was reading the lore on the changelings.

“Changelings can perfectly mimic children,” Sam began to read, “according to lore, they climb into the window, snatch the kid. And there were marks on the windowsill at one of the kid’s houses. Looked like blood to me.”

“So, changelings grab the kid, assumes its form, and joins the happy fam, just for kicks?” Dean asked.

“Not quite,” Sam frowned. “Changelings feed on the mom; synovial fluid. The moms have these odd bruises on the back of their necks. Changelings can drain them for a weeks before Mom finally croaks.”

“Explains the Dads and the babysitter,” Dean sighed.

“Yup,” Sam nodded. “Seems like anyone who gets between them and their food source ends up dead.”

“And fire’s the only way to waste them?” Dean queried.

“Yup,” Sam replied.

“Great, well, we’ll just bust in, drag the kids out, torch them on the front lawn,” Dean smirked darkly, “That’ll play great with the neighbors. What about the real ones? What happens to them?”

“According to lore, they stash them underground somewhere,” Sam shrugged. “Now, I don’t know why, but if it’s true, the real kids might be out there somewhere.”

“We better start looking,” Dean stated glancing over at the two of us, “You two done yet?”

“Yup,” Aiden grinned. “We’re ready to roast some bitches.”

“Aiden, your pyro tendencies are more than a little scary,” Sam deadpanned as Dean burst out laughing. Aiden stuck out his tongue as he pocketed a lighter.

“Hey, a fire has saved your ass plenty of times,” Aiden retorted.

It also had taken everything away but I wasn’t stupid enough to voice that statement out loud.

“We’ve gotta make a stop,” Dean said on the way outside. “I want to check on someone.”

“Well, if the real kids are still alive, we don’t have much time to,” Sam responded.

“Sam, we have to,” Dean growled.

Sam nodded his consent as Dean didn’t break his stride getting into the impala. We all hopped in and in seconds we were on our way to the gated community. When we got to what I assumed to be Lisa’s house we stayed in the car as Dean went on ahead. When Dean was out of hearing distance Sam and Aiden turned to me.

“It’s his,” I whispered. “There’s no way in hell it’s not.”

“Wow,” Aiden whispered. “What do you think he’s going to do?”

“I don’t think he knows,” I said. “What can he do?”

“Yeah,” Sam sighed.

“These gated communities freak me out,” Aiden grumbled a few seconds later.

“Yeah,” Sam and I agreed.

When Dean came back he looked worried. He was running towards the impala, which was an immediate clue that something was wrong. He opened the door and closed it behind him firing up the impala.

“It took Ben,” Dean hissed. “He’s changed.”

“What?” Sam gasped. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” Dean replied. “I’m sure. I checked his windowsill.”

“Blood?” Sam sighed.

“I don’t think its blood,” Dean frowned. “And I think I know where the kids are.”

Dean drove to another area of the gated community stopping at a half-built house. There was a pile of red dirt at the construction site.

“Red dirt,” Sam groaned. “That’s what was on the window!”

“All right,” Dean ordered. “You and Aiden take the front, Hailey and I’ll go around.”

We nodded and split up entering the half-finished house. We didn’t find anything at first and just when I was about to get frustrated I heard a crashing noise that I knew for certain that Dean heard too. We looked around a bit more before we found a cage hidden behind one of the walls. The real Ben was inside and reaching his arms through the bars.

“Ben?” Dean called. “Ben it’s okay. I’m going to get you out of here, okay?”

Dean began to look for something heavy to bash the locks open when I tapped him on the shoulder and eyed the look. He guessed my intention and nodded slightly once. I twitched a finger and the lock snapped open. Dean looked impressed, which, was a step up from disgusted. When the lock broke, Dean moved forward opening the cage and helped Ben out. My heart swelled with pride as Ben immediately went back and helped everyone else out of the cages. Dean and I led them to one of the windows. He looked at me and I knew that we were going to have to break them.

“All right, everybody back!” Dean ordered. The kids moved back, “Cover your eyes!”

They did as requested and Dean smashed the window open.

“Here,” Ben said handing Dean his jacket, “use this.”

He smiled approvingly at Ben before taking the jacket and covering the broken shards that were still left. He moved his hand to help Ben up but he deflected instead letting other kids go ahead of him. While I knew that Dean was impressed he also wanted Ben out of harm's way. Suddenly Aiden and Sam came jogging up to us, slightly out of breath, and Aiden had a slight limp.

“Dean, there’s a mother,” Sam stated.

“A mother changeling?” Dean groaned.

“Yeah, we’ve gotta get these kids out, quick,” Sam said.

“It makes sense,” I mused. “Keeping the kids alive so the mother can feed on them. Fucked up but it makes sense.”

I jumped when a kid began to scream, turning around and saw that the fake realtor had come into the room. Dean moved to attack her when she grabbed him by the front of the jacket tossing him into wooden support beams. He fell down and Sam moved quickly trying to get the lighter to light when she kicked it out of his hands tossing him into the aluminum siding.

“Hailey, get them out of here!” Aiden shouted as he went to help.

I did what I was told unsurprised when Ben stayed to help. When they were all gone, Ben climbed out of the window myself. Looking over my shoulder I saw that my brothers had gotten the upper hand. I decided to climb out the window and keep the kid's company. When I heard a scream, I knew the changelings were gone.

“Hailey?” Ben asked.

“What’s up, Ben?” I smiled.

“What was that?” Ben asked.

“Ben…”

“Don’t lie,” Ben frowned.

“It was a monster, Ben,” I sighed. “My brothers and I kill them for a living.”

“That’s awesome,” Ben grinned. “Hey, Hailey?”

“Yeah?” I questioned.

“Is Dean my Dad?” Ben questioned.

“I think so, buddy,” I answered truthfully. “Why?”

“My mom was looking at old pictures and seemed really happy that Dean was back. I put two and two together,” Ben shrugged.

“You’re a smart kid, Ben,” I complimented. “Listen, if you ever want to talk or anything here’s my cell phone number.”

“Thanks,” Ben smiled and hugged me.

“Ben, you okay?” Dean called as my brothers came out of the front door.

“Yeah,” Ben answered.

Dean pulled Ben into a hug that Ben gladly accepted and I smiled. When they broke apart, Dean led Ben to the impala who was looking at it in awe. I grinned at Dean as I got into the backseat with Ben and Aiden. I was surprised when Dean chose to drop Sam, Aiden, and I off at the motel first but no one complained as we shuffled out of the car. Ben hugged me once more before climbing into the front seat with Dean. Aiden decided that he was hungry and in need of an ace bandage and took the time to restock the first aid kit, which left Sam and me alone.

We looked at each other before moving towards the computers. We had taken what Ruby had said to heart. Hell, I wanted to know what happened to Mom’s friends just as much as the next person, who happened to be Sam. We broke the list in half and called all these places. It took around fifteen minutes and when I looked up I knew that Sam had the same luck I did. Almost everyone in Mom’s life: her friends were dead. Azazel went through a lot of trouble to cover his tracks and for what? Because Sam was supposed to lead the army and I was a member of a key?

I never really got a chance to bounce ideas off Sam because Aiden came home soon after the phone when Dean got back we left Indiana going to a take care of a poltergeist in West Texas. The first night we were there was fine. The next morning was a different story. I awoke to find Dean frantic: Sam had vanished without a trace.

 


	24. So I Thought

 

“Hailey, you need to calm down,” Abby snapped.

“I am calm,” I retorted breezily.

“Then you’re currently pacing because…?”

“Hey, my brothers been missing for two weeks, all right? Excuse me if I’m a little anxious.”

“A little?”

“We’re going to find him,” Lucy groaned, interrupting Abby before we began to fight. “All of the roadhouses hunter connections are out looking for Sam.”

“We were kidnapped less than a month ago,” I whispered. “What if demons have him?”

“Sam can take care of himself,” Abby said.

“Yeah?” I growled. “Because his powers are weaker than ours.”

“He’s not the same thing as us,” Lucy replied. “Natasha said so. We’re a whole different legend. Apparently, or so she theorizes, we would’ve had abilities with or without Azazel.”

“Great, so I was born a freak,” I rolled my eyes. “That makes me feel so much better.”

“You’re just on edge because Dean and Aiden are hovering,” Lucy noted.

“Sorry,” I relented. “I just really want to find him. He just disappeared, he doesn’t do that.”

“I know, Hails, and you’ll find him,” Lucy said.

“Yeah,” I muttered.

Abby, Lucy, and I, as well as Aiden and Dean,  were currently staying at the Roadhouse again. Abby and Lucy were boarding there, while Aiden, Dean, and I had come in from West Texas after finishing off the poltergeist hoping that Sam was just waiting here for some reason. I sighed and rubbed my forehead. It had been two and a half months since Dean had made his deal, and now Sam was missing; all of our energy was directed towards getting him back.

The Trinity thing was still a major thing on the back of my mind. Natasha feeding us information whenever she got it. Apparently, it wasn’t always the best idea for all of us to be together. Actually what she said was we’re strongest when we’re together but we’re also more vulnerable because demons wanted us to be on their side. Finding out that you’re the key to whether or not the world ends was a fucked up thing to find out like my plate couldn’t have been more full.

“Hailey, please, sit down,” Abby whispered.

I sighed but sat down in my seat in between both Abby and Lucy. My brothers weren’t up yet, hell, I wouldn’t be either if I had actually been sleeping. The roadhouse was completely empty and quiet. The three of us were nursing large cups of coffee as we waited for more signs of life, which wouldn’t be for a few hours. Except the front door swung open slamming the screen door against the wall. My head shot up along with Abby and Lucy’s. The figure darkening the doorstep wasn’t Ellen, or Jo, or even Ash. I grabbed the shotgun that Ellen stored behind the bar and cocked it at the stranger.

“You chose the wrong place to break into, buddy,” I snarled.

The person walked slowly into the room, hands out in front of him. I didn’t flinch as Abby and Lucy came up on either side of me eyeing the stranger critically. I felt the surges of Abby’s abilities as she was deciding whether or not the figure was a threat.

“Gee, Winchester, I see your attitude hasn’t improved with age.”

I cocked the shotgun in response leveling at the stranger’s torso.

“You don’t recognize me?” The voice questioned. “Aw, Hails, I’m hurt.”

It took a minute but things suddenly clicked, “Darren?”

“Hey, Hails!” Darren smiled.

“Holy shit!”

I hadn’t seen Darren in at least six years. The last time might’ve been when he was helping me with accuracy with shooting. I had known Darren for as long as I could remember. His entire family hunted, just like mine. Only they had been in this game for generations. Darren was nineteen years old and had bright silver eyes and tousled, short brown hair. He, also, had the most devilish smirk I had ever seen. I put the safety back on the gun, setting it down on the table before I ran over jumping into his open arms. He twirled me around before placing me back on my feet.

“You haven’t grown at all.”

“Shut up. Not all of us can be six foot two.”

“How’ve you been, Hails?”

“Been better. How are you?”

“Pretty good. Just trying to help out, ya know?”

“Yeah, it’s been chaotic.”

“They are?” Darren asked looking over my shoulder.

“This is Abby Chase,” I said pointing at Abby, “And this is Lucy Mackenzie.”

“Nice to meet you,” Darren smiled.

“Likewise,” Abby grinned with a raise of her eyebrow.

“Where are your brothers?”

“Dean and Aiden are sleeping. Sammy’s missing.”

“Missing? How long?”

“Two weeks.”

“I’m sorry, Hails.”

Someone cleared their throat and I whirled around surprised to see Aiden standing there. Aiden’s hair stood on end, a serious case of bed head. He looked past me to look at Darren, having no difficulty placing him. Darren removed his hand from my shoulder and took a step to the right, I didn’t even realize that Darren had been touching me. Aiden’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Darren as I rolled my eyes.

“Whitman,” Aiden greeted.

“Winchester,” Darren smiled.

“Ads,” I warned.

His eyes flicked to mine before shooting one last glower in Darren’s direction before turning on his heel and walking into the kitchen.

“What the hell?” Abby wondered.

“He does that,” I sighed.

“He worries about you,” Lucy replied.

“Thanks, Luce,” I shook my head.

There were a few more footsteps before Dean came out of the back and glanced at all of us. He was going to say something when his phone began to ring. He looked at it before answering it as quickly as possible. Sam.

“Sammy?” Dean demanded. “Where the hell are you? Are you okay? Hey, hey, hey! Calm down. Where are you? All right don’t move. We’re on our way.”

“Aiden!” I shouted.

I heard a crash from the kitchen as Aiden rushed out, “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Sam just called,” Dean said. “We’re leaving now.”

That was all Dean had to say. We were ready in minutes and driving towards Minneapolis, Minnesota. We stuck to back roads and stayed off of major highways as much as we could so that Dean could drive as fast as he could. By the time we got there, anticipation was at an all-time high. We barely waited for Dean to stop the car, running inside the motel and banging on the door.

“Sam, it’s us!” Dean called. There was no response, but Dean tried the doorknob and it was unlocked.

We moved quickly into the room and noticed that Sam was sitting on one of the beds his posture slumped, his head angled down, staring at the carpet.

“Sam?” Dean called. “Hey.”

“Hey, Dean.”

“Are you bleeding?”

I stood off to the side with Aiden, as Dean walked closer crouching down in front of Sam.

“I tried to wash it off.”

“Oh, my god.”

He pushed Sam to straighten up and I gasped. The entire front of Sam’s shirt had once been soaked with blood, which had dried making it stiff and dark brown.

“I don’t think it’s my blood.”

“Whose is it?”

“I don’t know.”

“Sam, what the hell happened?”

“Dean, I don’t remember anything.”

Aiden and I exchanged startled glances. Saying that he didn’t remember anything was a pretty big thing to say. Dean seemed to rally faster than we did, and I straightened up when Dean got out of his crouch. He turned to all of us before pulling Sam off the bed and giving him a light shove in the direction of the bathroom.

“Go get washed up,” Dean ordered, waiting only long enough to see that order carried out before turning to us, “You guys stay here, watch him. I’m going to get food. You call me if anything happens.”

“Yeah,” Aiden whispered, speaking for the both of us.

Dean nodded once before exiting the room. I sat on one of the chairs by the table watching the door to the bathroom intently. The shower was running but that wasn’t what I was worried about. How exactly could Sam be gone for two whole weeks and not remember anything?

“We’re going to figure everything out, Hay.”

His deep voice was startling in the quiet room and I flinched, cursing the fact that I hadn’t even noticed that Aiden had closed the distance between us and placed a hand on the back of my neck, kneading the tensed muscles he found there. I hadn’t even said a word, but I didn’t need to, Aiden had easily read every thought off my face and eyes. Hell, he was probably thinking along the same lines. Sam came out of the bathroom a few minutes later and it became awkward. Normally, if we were all waiting on Dean we would all talk or watch TV or something, instead, we all just sat down, each avoiding eye contact with one another. When Dean finally came back it was a welcome relief.

“What did you find out?” Sam demanded as soon as Dean laid the food down on the table.

“You checked in two days ago under the name Richard Sambora. Of course, I think the scariest thing about this whole thing is the fact that you’re a Bon Jovi fan.”

“Dean.”

“Your room’s been quiet. Nobody’s noticed anything unusual.”

“You mean no one saw me walking around, covered in blood?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s what I mean.”

“Then how the hell did I get here, Dean? What happened to me?”

“I don’t know, all right?” But you’re okay, that’s what matters. Everything else we can deal with.”

“Oh, really?” What if I hurt someone? Or worse?”

“Sam.”

“What if this is about what Dad warned you about?”

“Hey, whoa, come on, man, let’s not jump the gun here. We don’t know what happened. We’ve just gotta treat this like any other job. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“Just us in that motel room in West Texas. I went out to grab some burgers and…”

“West Texas?” Dean repeated. “Sam, that was over a week ago.”

“Two weeks, actually,” Aiden muttered.

Dean shot Aiden a look that said in no uncertain terms to keep quiet. Aiden shrugged once before folding his arms across his chest.

“That’s it,” Sam said, meekly. “Next thing I knew, I was sitting here, bloody. Felt like I’d been asleep for a month.”

“Okay,” Dean soothed. “Retrace your steps. The manager said you left yesterday and never saw you come back.”

“Uh, guys?” I whispered, pointing to the window latch. There was a bloody fingerprint on it. I caught the worried look on Sam’s face. What if he was right? What if this was what dad had warned Dean about?

Dean seemed surprised, but I saw that just as quickly as he was surprised he turned resolved. There had to be a logical reason for all of this. One that wasn’t about Sam going dark side. Because there was just something none of us could put a finger on. Something just didn’t feel right. Sure, we had found Sam but part of me still ached like he was missing, even though he was right in front of me. He’d barely made eye contact with Aiden or me, instead, he was focusing his attention on Dean. Because Dean had to have all the answers. It was a flashback to our youth, where Dean would have an answer for anything. Why wasn’t Dad around? Why did he come home hurt all the time? Why didn’t we have a mom? Why didn’t we have a house? How come we couldn’t get new clothes and toys like other kids? Dean had answers for all those questions and more, being there when we were sick, or hurt, or scared, no matter what. Now Sam needed that person again and Dean was obliging just like he always would.

Dean led as all around the back of the motel to where the parking lot was. We walked around heading down to where a small street of car storage units was. Dean was asking every so often if Sam recognized anything but so far nothing had triggered a response.

“Wait,” Sam called.

We all stopped and looked over at Sam.

“What?” Dean questioned.

“I think I was here,” Sam murmured.

“You remember?” Dean asked.

“No, not really,” Sam sighed. “It just feels familiar, you know?”

I glanced critically at Sam, wanting to figure out exactly why I was feeling as though this whole thing just didn’t feel right. Sam was acting Sam like, or at least I thought so. He was talking the way he always did but there was just something wrong like Sam was some sort of pod person. Maybe he was just disoriented from not remembering things for two weeks. I mean that would make anyone act weird. Still, something wasn’t right, and it was going to bother me until I figured out what exactly that was. I glanced up from my musing and noticed that Sam was watching me, an unreadable expression on his face before he smiled. A chill raced down my spine and I took an unconscious step back towards Aiden. Dean wandered over to the storage containers trying to open the first one in the row.

“Hey, try that one,” Sam finally said, tearing his eyes from mine. I watched as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a key and handed it to Dean.

Dean glanced from the key to unlock the storage unit. Sam and Dean lifted the door and there was a blue Volkswagen Beetle on the inside. I titled my head and I heard Aiden scoff, Dean was the one with the vocal reaction, “Oh, please, tell me you didn’t steal this?”

Sam grimaced at Dean as we all went inside, opening the door and beginning to look around. Sam wiped his finger a long the steering wheel then held it up for us. “There’s more blood.”

“Sam, the backseat,” Aiden whispered.

Dean and I glanced in the back seat and saw a bloody knife. Sam climbed in and grabbed it, “You think I used this on someone?”

“I’m not thinking anything,” Dean corrected. He leaned over the and grabbed something from the floor, a pack of cigarettes, “Okay, now this is disturbing. Come on, man, this couldn’t have been you. It had to have been someone else, someone who smokes menthols.”

“There’s a gas receipt,” Sam shrugged. “It’s a few towns over.”

Dean frowned down at the car before glancing at Sam and then looking at us. Finally, he ambled off back to the motel parking lot and getting into the impala. We all climbed in and Sam led us straight to the gas station, suddenly remembering the way to get there. We all got out of the car and entered the convenience store, that might as well have been a grocery store for the number of times we’ve stopped in at one over the years.

“Hey!” The store clerk yelled glaring irately at Sam, “You, outta here! Now! I’m calling the cops.”

“You talking to him?” Dean questioned.

“Yeah, I’m talking to him,” The clerk snapped. “Jerk comes in yesterday, stinking drunk, grabs a forty from the fridge, starts chugging.”

“This guy?” Dean asked before turning to Sam, “You’re drinking malt liquor?”

“Not after he whipped the bottle at my frigging head,” The clerk growled.

“This guy?” Dean repeated looking completely stunned.

“What, am I speaking Urdu?” The clerk retorted.

“Look, I’m really sorry if I did anything,” Sam whispered.

Once again, that sounded like Sam but at the same time it didn’t, because no matter what could’ve happened Sam detests malt liquor and he’s never smoked a day in his life, let alone smoked the entire pack.

“You know what?” The clerk muttered. “Tell your story walking, pal. Popo will be here in five.”

“Okay, wait,” Dean soothed. “He’s leaving. Sam, go wait in the car.”

“Dean,” Sam protested.

“Go wait in the car!” Dean growled.

Sam huffed before walking out of the store. Dean’s eyes landed on Aiden and mine before his eyes moved to where Sam was walking towards the car. That was a clear order that we weren’t invited to be present for the conversation either. When I moved to protest, seeing how the clerk wasn’t trying to get either Aiden or I arrested Dean’s eyes hardened. Aiden grabbed my wrist and pulled me out of the store. A few minutes later, Dean came out and said that Sam had gone north on Route 71.

“What’s going on with you, Sam?” Dean said a suddenly driving after a couple of minutes of silence. “Because smoking, throwing bottles at people, that sounds more like me than you.”

“Dean, wait,” Sam said, not answering Dean’s question. “Turn down that road.”

“What?” Dean demanded.

“I don’t know how I know, I just do!” Sam responded.

Dean sighed before turning down the road that Sam had pointed out. At the end of the road was a house. Dean parked the car as we all got out. We were climbing the steps when the porch light turned on automatically. A security camera was mounted outside the front door.

“Whoever lives here doesn’t like surprises,” Sam muttered.

“Should we knock?” Dean asked.

“Yeah, I guess,” Sam shrugged.

Dean began to knock as the rest of us wandered around the porch. My head shot up when Sam called out and pointed towards the broken windows. The glass pane was completely shattered.

“You’d think this place would have an alarm,” Aiden responded.

“Yeah, you would,” Sam frowned.

“There was,” I muttered.

The electrical breaker box had been disconnected, judging by the pliers still lodged in the device, whoever had done this had done it before. It was as if Sam could feel my eyes on his back because he turned around with the same unreadable expression before turning back around and following Dean into the house.

The entire house was in shambles and each room got worse and worse as we made to the back of the house. Dean wandered into an office and froze. I glanced over him and saw that there was a shadow of a body.

“Hit the lights,” Dean ordered.

Sam turned on the lights at the same time that Dean rolled the corpse over. It was a man’s body, the entire right side of his face was covered in blood. There was blood everywhere.

“Hailey, leave,” Dean ordered.

“What?” I protested.

“ _Now_ ,” Dean commanded.

I rolled my eyes but stayed out in the hallway watching through the threshold of the door.

“Dean, I did this,” Sam whispered, his voice worried.

“We don’t know that,” Dean retorted.

“What else do you need to know?” Sam yelled. “I mean, how else do you explain the car, the knife, the blood?”

“I don’t know, man, why don’t you tell me?” Dean snapped, anger leaking into his tone as he glared up at Sam. “Look, even if you did do this, I’m sure you had a reason: self-defense, he was a bad son of a bitch, something.”

“I need your lock pick,” Sam said after a moment.

“What?” Dean grumbled.

“I need your lock pick,” Sam repeated.

Dean rolled his eyes before handing his lock pick, which Sam used to open the closet. It led to another little office, with guns and maps and research all over the walls.

“Oh, my god,” I whispered. The guy on the floor was a hunter. This had gone from bad to worse in a second. If this guy really was a hunter then he had friends that would be looking for his killer.

“Hailey!” Dean growled rising from his haunches, “Get outta here. Ads, go with her, keep her out of this house.”

Aiden sighed and turned around pushing me back down the hallway and out of the house. I sat down on the top of the impala glaring irately at the house. It wasn’t like I had never seen a dead body before, in fact, I had seen enough to last a lifetime. And despite the fact that I didn’t ever want to see another one, I rather know about what is happening with Sam then be kept out of the loop again. I could feel the tension rolling off of Aiden in waves as he stood in front of me, his jaw was clenched and his eyes were clouded, he was worried. We all were.

There was a loud, sudden crash from the office and a few minutes later Dean and Sam emerged from the house. They both had bandanas in their hands, which meant that they had wiped their prints.

“Video camera in the office recorded the whole thing,” Dean told us. “We smashed it.”

“Did he do it, Dean?” I whispered, eyeing Sam the entire time.

“Not now, Hailey,” Dean groaned. “Get in the car.”

I rolled my eyes and I climbed into the backseat. Aiden came in on the other side and soon we were back at the motel room moving from the car to the room as fast as we could. We walked in and Dean tossed a duffel bag on one of the beds as Aiden and I dropped our duffels on the table.

“All right, we get a couple of hours sleep, then we put this place in our rearview mirror,” Dean ordered.

The silence in the room was deafening and I hated it. Everything about this situation sucked. Sam might’ve killed someone, and it didn’t feel like Sam was here, even though he was slumped on one of the beds.

“Look, I know this is bad, okay?” Dean continued. “But you’ve gotta snap out of it. Sam, say something!”

“Just get some sleep and leave in the morning?” Sam repeated. “Murder, Dean. That’s what I did.”

“Maybe,” Dean shrugged. Sam scoffed, “Hey, shapeshifter.”

“Oh, come on,” Sam growled. “You know it wasn’t, you saw the tape. There was no eye flare, no distortion.”

“It wasn’t you, all right?” Dean retorted. “I mean, yeah, it might’ve been you, but it wasn’t you.”

“I think it was,” Sam replied. “I think maybe more than you know.”

“And what the fuck does that mean, Sammy?” Aiden asked.

“For the last few weeks, I’ve been having these feelings,” Sam confessed.

“What feelings?” Dean questioned.

“Rage,” Sam shrugged. “Hate. I can’t stop it. It just gets worse. Day by day, it gets worse.”

“You never told me this,” Dean said looking incredibly concerned.

“That’s because he’s full of shit,” I retorted.

“Hailey,” Dean reprimanded.

“No, Dean, she may be right,” Sam nodded. “Then again, this could be what Dad warned you about when he told you that you may need to kill us.”

“You’re not Sam,” I stated firmly.

“What the fuck, Hails,” Aiden demanded.

“Now, she’s right,” Sam grinned. A full-fledged smile. A smile that wasn’t even close to Sam’s.

Before either Dean or Aiden could stand up Sam waved his hand sending them crashing into the wall. They were unconscious on impact as both their bodies crumpled to the ground. Sam was staring at me, his entire eye a dark, inky black.

“You know, you’re smart,” Sam said. “Smarter than I gave you credit for. You knew that this wasn’t Sam the entire time, didn’t you?”

“Yeah,” I growled.

“You’re a part of The Trinity,” Sam said again.

“And?”

“Do you realize exactly how powerful you are?”

“Obviously not.”

“The three of you are the key. Not two or one, all three of you, and you’re going to choose the right side in this war and I’m going to help you chose by killing every hunter I can find.”

“Christo,” I snarled.

“Stupid, stubborn, child,” Sam sighed.

Before I could make sense of that comment, Sam had grabbed a gun from Dean’s duffel and slammed the butt of it against my temple. The last thing I heard was the front door closing as I slipped into unconsciousness.

“What the fuck?” I heard one of my brother’s snarl.

I groaned as my head protested the movement of my body. My cheek hurt and my head throbbed as I struggled to open my eyes.

“What happened?” Dean demanded, noticing that I was awake.

“Sam’s possessed,” I stated.

“What?” Aiden gasped.

“Where is he?” Dean questioned.

“He said he was taking out hunters,” I said.

“Who is the closest hunter?” Aiden asked.

All three of us looked at each other in horror, “Bobby.”

“What are all of you doing in here?” Someone gasped.

We turned our attention to the front door where the front desk manager was standing.

“It’s past checkout and I have a couple here who needs a room,” The manager stated.

“I bet they do,” Dean sneered. “What time is it?”

“Twelve thirty,” The manager said.

“The other guy that was with us, have you seen him?” Dean questioned.

“Yeah, he left before dawn in your car, and you all should’ve gone with him because now I’m going to have to charge you extra.”

“Whatever,” Dean muttered. “Guys, move it.”

We walked past the disgruntled manager and moving into the parking lot. Once we were sure that he was no longer watching us, Dean hotwired a car and we drove as fast as we could to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. We were calling Bobby every few minutes until the phone line was disconnected.

Dean drove faster after that and just as we were entering South Dakota, Dean’s phone rang saying that Sam was there and Bobby had gotten Sam into the Devil’s trap and he wasn’t going anywhere. When we finally got to Bobby’s house he met us at the door.

“He hasn’t woken up yet,” Bobby said.

“Oh, he’ll wake up,” Dean vowed marching through Bobby’s house and into his living room. He filled a bucket full of water and blessed it.

We all circled around the chair in the middle of the Devil’s trap with Dean in the middle.

“Hey!” Dean shouted, backhanding Sam across his face.

He came to with a groan before looking at all of us, “The Winchesters in their prime. You seem to be losing your edge, you didn’t even notice that I was in your brother. Well, except for Hailey, not that she voiced any of that shit aloud. She got it though, from the very beginning.”

“How about I smack that smartass right outta your mouth?” Dean drawled.

“Oh, careful now,” Sam smirked. “Wouldn’t wanna bruise this fine packaging.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” Dean grinned, “this isn’t going to hurt Sam much. You, on the other hand.”

Dean grabbed the bucket of Holy Water and dumped it on Sam. He let out a shout as Dean growled, “Feel like talking now?”

“Sam’s still my meat puppet,” Sam snarled. “I’ll make him bite off his tongue.”

“No, you won’t be in him long enough,” Dean corrected. “Bobby?”

“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas, omnis incursio infernalis adversarii,” Bobby began.

“See, whatever bitch-boy master plan you demons are cooking up,” Dean began to hiss as Sam screamed in pain, “you’re not getting Sam or Hailey. You understand me? Cause I’m gonna kill every one of you first.”

As the exorcism rite continued I watched as Sam’s body continued to thrash and moan. Just as Bobby was getting towards the middle of the rite, Sam threw his head back and cackled, startled Bobby stopped reading and stared at Sam.

“You really think that’s what this is about?” Sam scoffed. “The master plan? I don’t give a rats ass about the master plan.”

“Humiliare sub potenti manu dei…” Bobby continued.

“Oops!” Sam laughed before smirking. “Doesn’t seem to be working. See, I learned a few new tricks.”

Sam bowed his head and began chanting in Latin. The room began to chant and papers started flying because of the wind. I flinched when the fire in Bobby’s fireplace burst out bathing the room is a sickening flash of light.

“This isn’t going like I pictured,” Dean shouted. “What’s going on Bobby?”

Bobby walked forward and pushed up Sam’s leave. There was a symbol burned into his skin, “It’s a binding link! It’s like a lock. He’s locked himself inside Sam’s body.”

“What the hell do we do?” Dean demanded.

“I don’t know!” Bobby responded. Shouting over the demon chanting. Suddenly the ceiling began to crack and then it splintered the Devil’s trap breaking the protective circle.

“There,” Sam grinned, “That’s better.”

Sam jerked his head in one direction sending Bobby and Aiden flying. He then moved his head in a different direction and Dean flew slamming headfirst into the wall. Sam glared at me as he broke the binds on his wrists. He pushed past me and made a beeline for Dean. I raised a hand that stopped Sam from moving.

“Smart,” Sam applauded turning around, “You’re strong, kiddo, but, you’re still behind the learning curve.”

Sam then raised both his hands and I started rising in the air.

“Hailey!” Dean shouted. “Don’t you fucking touch her!”

Sam walked over to where I was floating in the air. I couldn’t move and any attempt at using my abilities was stopped before I could even think of them.

“You see, there are predictions for which way the key is going to go,” Sam said. “Some think you’re going to go good. I, on the other hand, know you’re not because you’re not good, are you, Hailey? Sure, you save people and hunt the bad things that exist in this world. But, Azazel’s blood pumps through your veins.”

“I’ll never pick Hell’s side,” I snarled.

“You don’t have a choice, sweet pea,” Sam grinned.

I struggled in the air, fighting to get down as Sam watched on bemused before he twisted his fingers and I went flying to the wall. I watched as he turned back around and stalked over to Dean.

“You know, when people wanna describe the worst possible thing, they say, it’s like hell,” Sam began and punched Dean in the jaw, “There’s a reason for that. Hell is like…” Sam punched Dean again, “well, it’s like hell. Even for demons.” Another punch, “It’s a prison made of bone and flesh and blood and fear and you sent me back there.”

“Meg,” Dean guessed. His nose was trickling blood and I was struggling to get up.

“Nope,” Sam corrected. “at least not anymore. Now, I’m Sam.”

Sam lifted his arm to punch Dean again when Bobby grabbed his arm. He placed a hot fire poker to the binding link on Sam’s skin. When Sam began to scream as the demon left his body it was obvious that the lock had broken. Sam slumped forward before quickly coming to and scurrying backward hitting a trunk full of books.

“Sammy?” Dean called.

“Did I miss anything?” Sam asked.

Dean narrowed his eyes before leaning over and punching Sam in the face before falling to the floor groaning. Sam clutched his face as he mouthed the word ‘Ow’. Aiden had gotten up a slight limp still in his step as he grabbed both my hands and lifting me to my feet.

“You okay?” Aiden whispered.

“Been better,” I said dryly.

“You’re bleeding,” Aiden noted.

I looked down and there was a steady stream of blood pulling at my side. As soon as I noticed the wound my side began to throb in beat with my heat a shock of pain entering my system. Sam and Bobby had helped Dean up and had walked him to the table sitting him down. I was placed next to him as Bobby went to get a bag of ice for Dean and the first aid kit for me.

Aiden grabbed the first aid kit from Bobby opening up as he gestured for me to remove my shirt. I did as I was told and Aiden frowned as he found the scratch. It wasn’t the worst one I ever had but it still wasn’t good either. Aiden cleaned it out before wrapping it up. Dean had the ice pack on his bruised face as Sam sat next to him.

“By the way, you really look like crap, Dean,” Sam said suddenly a few minutes later.

“Right back at you,” Dean retorted.

When Bobby came into the room looking upset, my heart plummeted.

“What’s wrong?” Aiden asked.

“You guys ever hear of a hunter named Steve Wendell?” Bobby asked.

I watched as Sam and Dean shifted uncomfortably. So, that was the hunter’s name.

“Why do you ask?” Dean replied.

“Just heard from a friend, Wendell’s dead,” Bobby sighed. “Murdered in his own house. You wouldn’t know anything about that?”

Bobby looked at all of us sharply and I frowned looking at Dean.

“No, sir,” Dean lied. “Never heard of the guy.”

“Dean,” Sam protested.

“Good,” Bobby nodded. “Keep it that way. Wendell’s buddies are looking for someone, or something, to string up, and they’re not gonna slow down to listen to reason. You understand what I’m saying?”

“We better hit the road,” Dean said after he gave a sharp nod, “At least if we can remember if we parked the car.”

Sam flushed at the words as Bobby stepped closer, “Here, take these.”

“What are they?” Sam asked.

“Charms,” Bobby answered, making sure we each had one, “They’ll fend off against possession. That demon is still out there. This’ll stop it from getting back up in you.”

“That sounds vaguely dirty,” Dean grinned, “But thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Bobby said as he exchanged looks with my brothers before pulling me into a hug, “You all be careful now.”

“You, too,” Sam said, glancing apologetically at Bobby before following Dean out of the house. I moved forward following Sam and Aiden as Dean led us out, after tossing the ice pack to Bobby.

I climbed into the backseat of the impala. Curling up on the seat so that I could wrap my arms around my shins as I rested my head on my knees. I wondered if Meg had a point. Did Azazel’s blood sway whatever it was that allowed The Trinity to work? What if we were doomed to help the demons win the war? Dean had once said that no one could control you but you, but as the obstacles became harder and harder to overcome, I wondered if that was true.


	25. The Floodgates are Breaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have been following this story from ff.net this story has changed a lot. This chapter gave me a lot of trouble to edit but I'm finally satisifed. Though I wish past!me had been more consistent with the timeline. I've done my best.

There were certain moments when I doubted that Dean was the eldest of our quartet. Watching as he pouted as he was overruled by Sam, Aiden, and I. After Sam’s possession we didn’t want to take any chances, leading us to find a family friend who ran a tattoo parlor, her tattooes came with a little extra protection in the form of magic.

“I don’t like this,” Dean muttered.

“You want one of us to get possessed again?” Aiden responded.

“Bobby gave us charms,” Dean groused.

“Stop whining,” Sam retorted. “Charms can be ripped off and Cherry is giving us the family discount.”

“I’m going first,” I replied, shouldering by my brothers to grin at the receptionist.

“Absolutely not,” Dean growled.

“I don’t remember Dean Winchester being such a wet blanket,” Cherry Malone snickered coming out of the back room.

I had always liked Cherry from the moment I met her. She was a young witch in New Orleans when Dean and I had met her five years ago. Her father and ours were the corps together and had somehow both found themselves in the hunting lifestyle, for a different reason. Mom had died, while Cherry’s father married a witch, who didn’t want to hide. Dad and Mason, Cherry’s dad got back in touch when there was a rogue witch killing outside city limits.

Cherry and Dean were around the same age, and though they tried to hide it, I knew at one point, they had been more intimately acquainted. When Cherry came out wearing her signature leather pants, tank top, and flannel. Her unnatural dark red hair was spiked and matched her lipstick, and her blue eyes were rimmed with black eyeliner. It had been a look I wanted to replicate and was quickly denied. All these years later, Cherry still pulled it off.

“Rose colored glasses, Mon Cherie,” I teased.

“Fuck you, Hay,” Dean groused.

I sent one bright shit eating grin Dean’s way before I pushed Sam and Aiden forward, “Cherry meet my other brothers Aiden and Sam.”

“Hey,” Cherry grinned.

“Your name’s actually Cherry?” Aiden wondered.

“Dude,” Sam scolded.

“Parents thought they were being cute,” Cherry said. “Now are we going to do this thing or what?”

“We are,” Sam, Aiden, and I said.

“That’s what I thought,” Cherry smiled. “Rosalie, you can go on home.”

“You sure, boss?” Rosalie asked.

“They’re old friends, sweetheart.”

Cherry locked up behind Rosalie before ushering us into the backroom. She sat down next to a table, with a lightbox built into it, before facing us.

“Your standard anti-possession charm?” Cherry questioned.

“Yeah,” Sam said.

“We were thinking something like this,” Sam held out a drawing of a pentacle.

Cherry moved to take the drawing humming under her breath as she sat in on the table and went to work, fleshing out our drawing and making it into something better. We watched quietly as the finished piece quickly came together. She made the common pentacle into something special, with a sunburst around it. Once we had okayed the drawing, Cherry put the stencil together.

“This is where it gets a little weird,” Cherry said.

She passed out an alcohol swab and a needle. Cherry placed a cup in the center of the table.

“Swab your finger, bleed in the cup,” Cherry said. “Once you all have I can put a protection charm on your blood individually as well as the charm itself.”

Once all the Winchesters had bled in the cup, Cherry grabbed it. She held one palm over the cup chanting quietly. They watched as the blood in the cup began to swirl and glow before evaporating out of thin air.

“We’re ready for the tattoos now. Have you thought about placement?”

“The back of my neck,” I said.

“It’ll hurt, but you’re a badass,” Cherry grinned. “Lay on down, Hails.”

I lay down on the table, pushing my hair aside grimacing at the cold spray of antiseptic followed by the razor getting rid of any little hairs at the base of my neck. I felt sure fingers lay on the stencil, knowing that Cherry would get the placement just right.

“Ready to rock and roll, Hails?”

“Let’s do this,” I said.

The hum of the tattoo machine was loud and while it didn’t hurt, I wouldn’t say it was pleasant, it reminded me of Missouri Mosley’s cat when it scratched you. Just, if it happened to scratch you over and over again. It wasn’t a mortal wound, however, it was kind of irritating, though, after a while, the sound of machine lulled me into a kind of trance.

I lost track of time after that, it was only when the machine stopped, and I felt a paper towel wipe off the excess ink before bandaging it up. I took my time getting to my feet before sitting down in one of the swivel chairs. My brothers went on right after the other getting the tattoo on their chests.

“Thanks again for getting us in so quick, Cherry,” Dean said. “Twenty-five hundred as we discussed.”

“Pleasure doing business, Winchesters,” Cherry grinned. “You all stay safe out there. You send any others my way too.”

It took about a half hour to realize that Dean was driving back towards the Roadhouse. The Roadhouse had become our base of operations without us even realizing it. More and more hunters were showing up at the Roadhouse. It was also where Abby and Lucy were staying and with Ash tracking nearly every demon omen known to man, it made the most sense to have the roadhouse be our base of operations.

Arriving in the middle of the night made the lot the Roadhouse sat on, seem eerie. Most of the cars were gone, except for the ones that had stayed the night. Closing time had gone by an hour ago, so it wasn’t surprising to see Ellen behind the bar, a cup of coffee by her side counting out the register. She looked up from her task pointedly looking from the clock to us.

With sheepish smiles, we took the message and moved past the bars and into the back rooms going to our rooms and shutting the door. I collapsed on the bed, wrenching my feet out of my boots. I removed the outer layers of my clothing, mainly the flannel and jeans before crawling into the bed, asleep pretty much the moment my head hit the pillow.

The next time I opened my eyes, I knew immediately that it was early. I jammed the pillow over my head with a frustrated movement as I rolled over. Even though I knew that it was a pointless maneuver, there was no getting back to sleep at this point.

Instead of waiting in the confines of the roadhouse, surrounded by hunters I had never seen before, to run around the compound, which was a little more than two miles. Running was something that Dad had stressed the importance of when we were younger. If we were up against something, and the odds were against us sometimes the only solution you had was to cut and run. Of course, I liked it better when I wasn’t running for my life, or because my father or Dean had told me too. Instead, I was out here because I wanted to because I couldn’t stand to sit still. After the first revolution, I began to up my pace to one that was a little past comfortable. Something that wasn’t too easy to let my mind wander but not too hard that I would fry the recently healed leg. I had almost completed the second revolution around the lot when a silver Maserati blew past me heading straight to the roadhouse.

“Fuck.”

I knew that car and I knew what trouble they brought. I picked up the pace in time to see Greg and Georgina Sparks walk right in. The audacity of the Sparks twins never ceased to amaze me. The twins were well known in the hunting world for all the wrong reasons. For some who knew what was really out there: most chose to fight, while others such as the Sparks’ chose to benefit from it, selling amulets and talismans even going so far as to steal them. Last I checked the Sparks weren’t allowed anywhere near the Roadhouse but if rumors were true Georgie and Greg had decided to be hunters as well as maintain the family business.

It was early enough that the bar area was nearly deserted with the exception of my brothers, Jo, and Ellen. Other hunters were still holed up in their rooms, I guessed. The twins stood in the middle of the room. My brothers had been staring down the twins before they looked towards me.

“What are you both doing here?”

“We came for information,” Greg said.

“Mercenaries are not welcome in my bar,” Ellen growled. “I’ve told you both that before.”

“We’re hunters too,” Georgie replied.

“Hunters with a Maserati?” I scoffed.

“A Maserati?” Dean repeated. “That’s subtle.”

“So’s that beast you call a car.”

“Why don’t you g-”

“Why are you here?” Ellen demanded.

“Recon,” Greg said. “We were hoping Ash could help us.”

“It’s a little early for Ash,” Ellen stated. “Whether or not he wants to help is up to him.”

Not seeing any need to stay, I walked back to the rooms. I walked into my room, shedding my sneakers. I took one look at my reflection in the mirror, over the drawers and sighed. One of the consequences of running out here was getting covered in dust. I was surprised I didn’t feel the grime on my skin before, now it was all I felt.

I stuck my head out of my room, and down the hallway to see if the bathroom at the end was occupied. Finding it vacant, I grabbed my towel and raced into the bathroom. Normally I’d take my shampoo and conditioner, but I knew Jo used the same kind. It was a luxury to have adequate water pressure and consistent heat.

I flinched when someone pounded on the door. “Quit hogging the shower, Hay!”

“Bug off, Ads.”

Even as I said that I ended my shower, wrapping my body in a towel. I half expected Aiden to be waiting in the hallway, but when I opened the door, he wasn’t there. I moved back to my room and changed into clean clothing. By the time I was dressed and had wandered back to the main room, the Roadhouse was more alive. People were awake and nearly everyone was armed with mugs of coffee and newspapers. I weaved my way through the crowd finding Abby and Lucy at a table towards the back.

“Morning,” I greeted.

“Hey,” Abby and Lucy both said. “When did you get in?”

“Early,” I frowned.

“Did you find Sam?” Abby asked.

“Yeah, he was possessed,” I said. “We got it out and then got anti-possession tattoos. Speaking of which, you guys should probably follow suit.”

“Bobby gave us some charms,” Lucy said.

“Charms can be taken away, but they should be good for now,” I replied. “But, we have a tattoo artist that knows the score. I’ll get you her info later.”

Neither looked happy with the idea of tattoos, but they were certainly more durable than a necklace that could be ripped off. I sat down helping myself to Abby’s coffee. I looked around, not seeing my brothers in the sea of hunters. It seemed that the Roadhouse was getting more and more populated by the day. Though from my childhood, I remembered there was always a crowd at night.

A few hours later, it was definitely busier, Ash was holding court by the pool table, Jo was hustling truckers out of their room money, and I was people watching. Dean, Sam, and Aiden sat at the bar. It seemed like it was going to be a quiet night, at least until the door opened and the Sparks twins came in. I rolled my eyes, I had almost forgotten that they were coming back. I was expecting them to go straight to Ash instead they came right to the table that Abby, Lucy, and I were sitting at. I didn’t say anything, which struck both Abby and Lucy as odd. They both looked at me before glancing towards the Sparks. I had normally been quick with introductions, to make them comfortable. I had also shown them a few people to casually avoid. The Sparks were on another level.

“Hi,” Lucy smiled.

“Hello,” Georgina trilled. “I’m Georgina, this is my brother Greg. And you are?”

“Not interested in making your acquittance,” I interrupted. “Go bother Ash, Georgie.”

“Aw, Hails, don’t be such a party pooper,” Greg scolded. “We’re just trying to be friendly.”

“Bullshit, you both always have an angle,” I sneered. “If you need Ash’s help, I suggest you find him or get out before Ellen comes to her senses and boots you out.”

“Actually, we don’t need Ash’s help,” Georgie smiled. “We got the information we needed all by ourselves.”

“Wonderful!” I said, faux-cheerful. “Then you can get out.”

“Our recon led us here, actually,” Greg replied. “It is apparently common knowledge that the trinity frequently comes here. Two members are even living here now.”

Lucy, Abby, and I reacted instantaneously jumping to our feet and pushing them out of the Roadhouse and into the cool night. Neither twin seemed too put out at the rough handling, instead, they were grinning ear to ear.

“It is true,” Georgie smiled

“You’ll never know.”

“That’s not quite true,” Greg corrected. “We know a lot about all of you. Born the same day, minutes apart, all over the country. The ability to sense the others, feel what the others are feeling, know what the others know. You’re all pieces to a puzzle that’s only whole when you’re all together. Am I close?”

“Whoa!” Georgie squealed.

Abby had reacted almost grabbing Greg by the shirt front and pulling him close, a glowing fist held close to his face. When Georgie moved to throw Abby off, I intercepted her sending her sprawling a few feet away. I hadn’t meant to send her flying, but I knew that I hadn’t hurt her. Despite the fact that she was in the dirt, unharmed she still let out a bloodcurdling wail. Abby, Lucy, and I exchanged unimpressed glances as Greg squirmed in Abby’s grip, while Georgie attempted to get to her feet.

“What the hell is going on?” Dean shouted storming out of the Roadhouse with Sam and Aiden on his heels.

“Dean!” Greg yelped, “Help me, they’ve attacked us.”

“Abigail, let him go,” Dean ordered. “Everyone take a breathe and step back.”

“They started it,” I hissed.

“What happened?” Sam asked.

“They know about the Trinity,” Abby snapped.

“We did our research!” Greg shouted.

“Bullshit, like you’ve ever worked a day in your life,” I snarled. “

 “We have connections,” Georgie groused. “That’s not our fault.”

“No, but it’s our problem,” Abby hissed.

“No, I’m your problem,” Dean contradicted. “Cool off, Abs, and let him go. Now.”

“Dean,” I protested.

“Lucy, Abigail, Hailey, remove yourself from the situation before I do it for you,” Dean ordered sharply.

We shared one long look with one another before Abby abruptly dropped Greg who landed on his feet, while I released his sister who sprung up from the ground, terrified. Seriously, what I did to Jake all those months ago was ten times worse than anything I’d ever do to Georgie Sparks.

Together Lucy, Abby, and I turned and walked back to the Roadhouse and going inside. I knew that Dean wasn’t going to let what just happened go, so I led the girl’s to the back and into my room. When I closed my door, Abby and Lucy sprawled on my bed, frowns on their faces.

“This is bullshit,” Abby grumbled.

“Guys, attacking people who know about us might not be the best course of action,” Lucy whispered.

“Luce, come on,” I shook my head. “You guys don’t know the Sparks twins as I do. The only reason they want to know things is so they can use that to their advantage. To them, we’re nothing more than another oddity to sell off for a large sum of money.”

“Hails,” Lucy sighed.

“Lucy, I know you think we’re being unreasonable but we are different from everyone else,” I stated firmly. “We have to protect ourselves.”

“Not everyone is an enemy,” Lucy protested.

“You’re right,” Abby agreed. “But, not everyone deserves our trust either. The fewer people know the better.”

“Demons know all about us,” Lucy retorted. “It would give hunters an edge if they knew about us too.”

“Or they can think we’re aligned with hell and try to take us out,” I stated.

Immediately my mind went to Gordon Walker who thought that both Sam and I as well as others like us were fair game just because we had a little demon blood pumping through our veins. Those were the extremists who saw everything in only black and white. It was an easy thing to do in this world. It offered a sense of comfort. Nothing was complicated if things were either good or evil with nothing in between.

Unfortunately, at the start of my fledgling powers, I realized exactly how wrong the majority of hunters were. If anything this life was harder than most. And nothing was ever black and white. Nearly everything I had come across had shades of gray. You couldn’t kill a demon without inadvertently killing the host, which had happened on occasion. Then again demons enjoyed riding their puppet right into the ground. Sometimes the demon was the only thing keeping the person alive. But, being dead was better than not being able to control your own body. Or at least that’s what I believed. And if the way Sam was acting was anything to go by possession was one of the more horrible experiences that could happen to someone.

“Your brothers are fucking intimidating, you know that?” Abby sighed.

“I’ve been told,” I snarked.

Over the past couple of months, my brothers had gotten fairly close to both Abby and Lucy. I had caught Aiden, Sam, and Dean casting protective glances whenever one of the male patrons got a little too forward. I wondered if Abby and Lucy noticed. They probably had, not a lot got by the three of us anymore. I heard the familiar tread of boots in the hallway and stepped away from the door, just as Dean swung it open. His swept the room with fire in his gaze as he headed straight for us. This was basically the one movement of Dean’s that screamed someone was in trouble. I hated being on the other side of that movement but at least I wasn’t alone.

 “What the hell was that?” Dean demanded.

“You sound surprised,” I scoffed. “Where ever the twins go shit like this follows.”

“Hailey,” Dean warned.

“I didn’t hurt her,” I said. “I was just keeping her from getting in the way. I kept her from getting hurt.”

“You guys can’t just go on the offensive that fast,” Dean growled.

“The Sparks are a different story, Dean,” I protested. “You don’t trust them either.”

“Hailey, people who know about you know that you three are the key,” Dean stated. “In the legend, it says that you all can lean in either direction. Hurting people aligned with this side isn’t the wisest move.”

“We know,” Abby sighed.

“Yeah, says the one who nearly set someone on fire,” Dean scoffed.

“Dean, I think we react instinctually if one person reacts we all do,” Lucy said.

“That’s terrific,” Dean muttered. “Tone it down, get me?”

“Yeah,” Lucy, Abby, and I chorused.

“Good,” Dean nodded. “Now, if you all that much energy to start a fight, then you all should have no problem running it off.”

“Georgie started it,” I fumed.

“Why do you let her get under your skin, Hailey?” Dean asked. “Seriously, the girl’s a bitch and we all know that. But, I’m getting tired of me having to do damage control every time you both are in the same vicinity just because you can’t control your temper.”

“I had control,” I replied.

“Really?” Dean retorted. “You’re sure about that?”

“Yeah, Dean, I didn’t hurt her and I could’ve,” I said. “Abby didn’t hurt Greg either.”

“I recognize a scare tactic when I see one,” Dean grumbled. “I’m just not condoning it. The Sparks’ are nothing. Hailey and the sooner you realize that the better. Now, go run some laps.”

“It’s dark out,” Abby protested.

Dean seemed to think about it for a minute then said, “Then you all can clean out the weapons and make salt and iron rounds.”

“I’d rather run in the dark,” I groused.

Cleaning out the weapons and making salt and iron rounds were mindless busy work. A page straight out of John Winchester’s parenting book. Between weapons cleaning and running laps, I would always take the latter. Based on the steely look Dean was sending my way, however, I knew that I no longer had a choice in the matter.

“If you feel that strongly about it, Hailey Jade, you can wake up at 0500 and run laps too,” Dean said. “You’re still cleaning weapons and making rounds, though.”

I opened my mouth to protest the added punishment when Dean interrupted, “Abby, Lucy can you give us a minute, please? Sam and Aiden will help you bring the weapons in.”

Both Abby and Lucy sent an encouraging look my way before leaving the room, closing my door behind them. With a defeated sigh, I sat down on my bed.

“Why are you so mad about this?” I asked.

“Every single time we’ve run into her, this happens Hailey. When you were a kid, it was one thing but now you’re a part of this legend that already has hunters on edge. Attacking people isn’t the smart play.”

“The Sparks aren’t people,” I mumbled. “Half the people in the Roadhouse hate them anyway.”

“I don’t care what half the people in the Roadhouse think. I care about our family and we don’t take stupid risks.”

“They knew all about us, Dean, things they shouldn’t have.”

“That doesn’t give you a pass to attack them.”

“It was barely an attack. I pushed Georgie down and Abby just threatened to punch him.”

“With a fist that was on fire.”

I would let Dean have that one, it wasn’t normal for people to have fire come out of their fists.

“This is the last time, Hailey,” Dean growled. “If the Sparks come back just walk away.”

“Oh, please,” Aiden scoffed, coming through the door, having heard the tail end of the conversation. “When has a Winchester ever backed down from a fight?”

“He’s got a point,” Sam agreed.

Dean sent us all a sharp look, but he didn’t disagree. I knew that Dean was serious, he didn’t want us interacting with the twins again, but I couldn’t be certain that if push came to shove, this blow up wouldn’t happen again.

Everyone settled into my room, emptying out the weapons duffel bags, and showing Abby and Lucy how to make their own rounds. I sat on the floor polishing the weapons. I was surprised that Sam, Aiden, and Dean stuck around after Lucy and Abby demonstrated that they knew what they were doing. Normally punishment chores were a silent affair. Instead, conversation flowed. Mostly just shooting the shit, but we did mention what the Sparks had known about the Trinity. My brothers didn’t seem worried at how much the twins knew, which went a long way in settling my nerves.

A few hours later, the Roadhouse had settled down for the night, all the weapons had been cleaned and put back in their proper place. The new salt and iron rounds were put into labeled boxes, then we all brought it back out to the impala. Once everything was squared away we began heading towards our own rooms to sleep.

“Remember 0500, Hails,” Dean said on the way to his own room.

“0500,” I repeated.

Five AM came far too soon for my liking, with my alarm ringing I couldn’t stop my groan. I may not have been getting as much sleep as I use too, but it was no picnic to wake up at before the sun had even begun to rise. I resisted the urge to press the snooze, knowing that Dean would be pissed if I wasn’t up and running when he told me too. I changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top before lacing up my sneakers.

With another yawn, I made my way outside and began a slow jog around the property. As I woke up, I picked up the pace until I was at a sprint. I don’t know how long I was running for until I felt a presence beside me. I looked next to me and saw Darren.

“When did you get here?” I asked.

“A few hours ago,” Darren replied. “I must’ve missed the fireworks the sparks caused.

“Yeah, Dean wasn’t impressed.”

“Laps?”

“Yup.”

“Why do you hate Georgina so much?”

_It had been a year since Aiden had left for school and four years since Sam had left. Luckily, they were both at Stanford but I still had a small amount of anger over how everything went down. What irritated me the most was now the we were down two of our team, Dad and Dean had stepped up my training and I went on my first hunt a few months ago._

_I was still a newbie in the game and I wished more than anything that Aiden and Sam could see how good I’ve gotten. Even Dad had said so. Dean and I were currently in Milwaukee working a job. We were pretty sure that it was just a spirit that was going after all these people. It sounded like a typical haunt: new couple buys an old property to knock it down and rebuilt it._

_The first day they break ground a construction worker gets electrocuted to death. Three more construction workers die in suspicious circumstances causing the project to shut down. That doesn’t stop a spirit, however. Once they’re awake there’s no undoing it and they’re pissed about it. They will go after anything and everyone._

_The family that had bought the property was Anthony and Patricia Sparks. They had two children: twins, Gregory and Georgina Sparks. The weird thing about the Sparks family was that they had called Dad personally. As it turns out they were mercenaries, they knew about what truly existed in this world but chose to use it for personal gain. When Dean and I came to help them out they knew all about us, right down to our social security numbers._

_The entire Sparks family had set us up. There was a ghost that had woken up when construction started. However, Georgina had trapped it in a talisman, after it had killed all those construction workers. They had then called us, neglecting to tell us that it was trapped in a necklace that they had given to their maid, Maria Daniels. Unfortunately for Maria, once she wore the necklace the spirit preyed on her emotions, killing people who had harmed her in the past._

_Ghosts don’t like being made to kill. They especially don’t like people bothering them. Dean nearly died before I realized what was going on. I had blessed the grounds, but the spirit remained and I was desperate. Dad was halfway across the country and I couldn’t ask Dean for help when he was laid out at the motel room, recuperating. I had called Bobby in a panic asking what it could’ve been. When he told me that some charms can make it so that spirits are at the controller’s beck and call I realized that was what had happened. I destroyed the charm that night, which Maria was controlling, though she didn’t realize it. What I didn’t know was by destroying the device that was keeping the spirit maintained it would set it loose and would, in turn, go straight for the person wearing the necklace. She didn’t know what she had done, Georgina hadn’t told her that. She just said it was a ‘protection spell’._

_The ghost didn’t care what Maria had been told and ripped her ripped to shreds and I watched unable to intervene. I tried to save her, she didn’t deserve to die. No one did, not like that. The last thing I remember was by attempting to stop the carnage the ghost tossed me out of the window. When I came to, I was in the roadhouse and no one really talked about what happened. Except for Georgina, who had been watching the entire thing enough to give me a play by play._

“What happened wasn’t your fault,” Darren frowned.

“I should’ve realized the consequences of breaking the talisman.”

“If you hadn’t broken it then the ghost would’ve kept killing, it was manipulating Gabby’s emotions, and she was none the wiser. This is all Georgina’s fault, which is why Ellen banned the whole family, right?”

“Yup,” I said. “I hate her, Dare. She manipulates whoever she can to get what she wants. People are just puppets to her.”

“You’re no puppet, Hails,” Darren smiled.

I couldn’t help but grin back. Six years had seemingly changed a lot. Before Darren and his family had gone across the pond, we were like oil and water. We were constantly fighting up until the day the Whitman family left. In hindsight, while Darren was a cocky kid, I was just as abrasive, angry that I wasn’t as good at sparring as him, or at weapons training.

We had both grown a lot both emotionally and physically. He had grown into quite a handsome man, I felt a bit guilty for being attracted to him. Trevor had only been dead for six months, it wasn’t right to feel any type of way towards another man. Darren and I were standing close to one another, the distance closing between us, as our eyes locked. Just when Darren and I were about to kiss I stumbled back, which startled Darren.

“No, I can’t,” I whispered.

“Hay, I’m sorry.”

“It’s too soon.”

My eyes welled with tears as I ran blindly towards the Roadhouse, ignoring Darren’s calls to come back. I burst into the Roadhouse and ran right to Abby and Lucy’s room. I had completely forgotten how early it was when I burst through their door, sending them both jumping awake.

“Hails?” Lucy gasped. “What’s wrong?”

“Can you see Trevor?” I demanded.

“Hailey, I don’t understand…” Lucy began.

“Please, Lucy, can you?”

“Yes, Hailey, what happened?”

“I almost kissed Darren,” I whimpered. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

“Hails, I may not be able to see Trevor but there’s no set time table for grieving and when it’s acceptable to move on,” Abby said with a yawn.

“Trevor wants you to be happy, Hails,” Lucy whispered. “If Darren makes you happy then you have his blessing.”

“I miss him so much,” I sighed.

“He misses you too,” Lucy answered. “He’s so proud of you.”

I stifled a sob as Lucy pulled me into a hug. Everything was just impossibly difficult. We were the key to the apocalypse. I still loved Trevor but now I had all new feelings for Darren and I could tell he felt the same way. Dean was going to hell in about six months and so far we had found nothing to stop it and with every day that passed a little more help was lost.

I took a moment to wallow before I pulled myself together. Crying wasn’t going to help Dean and focusing on the past wasn’t going to bring Trevor back to life. I wiped my eyes and took a step back. I offered both Abby and Lucy a watery smile.

“I’ll let you guys get some more sleep.”

“You sure, Hails?” Abby asked.

I gave them both another smile before I saw myself out, walking back down the hallway towards my room. I shut my door and changed into jeans and a sweatshirt. The days were getting colder. Whenever I jogged I got hot, no matter what time of year it was. Once I was dressed I dropped on my bed with a sigh. I didn’t know how much time passed before someone knocked on my door. I figured it was Abby or Lucy checking in on me, or Dean making sure I had run my laps.

“Yeah?” I called.

The door opened revealing Darren, well, that I hadn’t been expecting.

“Hailey, I’m sorry about this morning. I just thought-”

I gestured for him to come in as I sat up.

“It’s okay,” I replied. “Honestly, I’m glad you did.”

“Really?” Darren smiled.

“Yeah,” I smiled.

“Well, then, I retract my former apology,” Darren grinned as he came towards me.

“Good,” I smirked.

This time I made the first move snaking my fingers out and curling them around his belt loops as I dragged him closer to me. He smiled caught off guard as I began to kiss him. The height difference made things a little awkward so Darren picked me up, placing me on top of my dresser as we continued to kiss. Our hands roamed all over each other before my hands landed on his shoulders as one of his arms snaked behind my back tugging me closer to him, while the other one rested on my thigh. Just when things were really heating up, my door was thrown open.

“Did you not run laps?” Aiden began walking into the rooms. “Dean’s going to…Oh, that’s nasty.”

“Jesus,” I squealed, Darren and I springing away from one another.  “Don’t you ever knock?”

“Excuse me for trying to do you a favor,” Aiden grumbled.

“Ads, get out! I already ran. He told me I had to at 0500, remember.”

“Because you always do what Dean says,” Aiden scoffed.

While I knew Aiden had a point, I still scowled at him, jumping down from the dresser. I walked out into the main room and grinned.

“Missouri?” I smiled. “What are you doing here?”

The woman in question was holding court at one of the center tables, a cup of tea in her hands.  Missouri was a psychic and a strong one at that. She could read your thoughts as well as see the future. She had taught Natasha everything she knew, even going so far as to adopt her.

The sad thing about Natasha was that she was found on Missouri’s doorstep when she was just a couple months old. She had no idea of who her biological family was but she didn’t care. Missouri and the rest of us were enough for her. Missouri had hugged Natasha who was know standing by my brothers as I brushed by them to give her a good. Missouri pulled my close. When I packed up she hugged Jo.

“Don’t just stand there, baby, give me a hug,” Missouri ordered.

She rose to her feet as I hugged her close. It had been a very long time since I last saw Missouri but she hadn’t aged a day. I melted in her embrace, the woman was a comfort to all she came across, or at least she tried to be.

“What are you doing here?” I asked. “Natasha didn’t say you were coming.”

“It was sudden,” Missouri sighed. “Unfortunately this visit has a reason. I need to talk to you, Lucy, and Abby.”

“Are we okay?” I asked.

“Don’t worry, baby,” Missouri soothed. “Natasha explained what she had found. I’m going to tell you more about what the Trinity really is and what Azazel did to you. I want to answer all your questions or at least the ones I can.”

An anxious feeling spread over my body as she looked at me carefully. She had said that there was nothing to worry about. But, of course, that made me concerned. What if what Azazel did had made things worse? What if we were predisposed to lean towards the demon’s side?


	26. Down on Your Knees

 

Abby, Lucy, Missouri, and I were in my room, sitting in somewhat awkward silence. Missouri hadn’t wanted anyone else sitting in for this, not even my brothers or Natasha. I squirmed nervously. Abby and Lucy had introduced themselves to Missouri and the woman seemed pleased to meet them.

“Missouri, what’s happening?” I whispered.

“A time of darkness is coming and you three are the only thing that stands in its way,” Missouri stated.

Abby, Lucy, and I shot each other panicked glances. There was no way that us being the only thing between hell on earth was a good thing.

“It gets worse,” Missouri sighed. “I translated the original prophecy… A time of darkness is rising, blood is the final price to pay. Three to stand between the light and shadow. The Trinity is born in a world on the brink of destruction. Three less one and darkness triumphs. The end of the world is upon us all, only three stands between the world and its end.”

“I can’t believe this,” I groaned.

“You stop that right now, Hailey Winchester,” Missouri scolded. “You’re stronger than you give yourself to credit for. You all are. Now other than that prophecy the origins and what made The Trinity is unknown.”

“How are we supposed to do it?” Lucy asked. “Clap our hands and say Apocalypse no?”

Missouri shot Lucy an unimpressed look. “Somehow, baby, I don’t think it’ll be that easy.”

“Then what will we do?” Abby wondered.

“As you grow stronger you all will be able to tap into each other's thoughts and emotions, using it as a way to communicate,” Missouri told us. “You might be able to use each other's abilities. Tap into memories. Since there’s three of you, the closer your bond becomes, the more power you will have. Just be careful, babies. There’s entire world gunning for your deaths. All they have to do is get one of you and they win.”

“This all can’t rest on us,” Abby protested.

“We’re eighteen years old,” I said.

“There’s been a terrible weight put on all of your shoulders,” Missouri said. “I know that and it’s not going to be easy. But you three can do it. I know you can.”

I frowned as Missouri got up and kissed my forehead before leaving the room. Abby, Lucy, and I stared at each other. I didn’t even need the telepathic connection we apparently had to know that Abs and Luce were just as freaked out as I was.

**Abby’s Point of View**

While Baltimore may have been one of the most dangerous cities in America. However, I considered it to be hype. Any place could be dangerous, as a woman. You had to keep your senses about you. As long as you were out in public, you could not afford to drop your guard. Growing up in the streets, you learned things quickly and adapted to situations even faster. I learned to read people and situations in seconds, and recognized that if a situation didn’t involve you, it was better to keep it that way.

I didn’t know my parents, for as long as I could remember I was going from foster home to foster home, never staying in one place very long. Most of the homes I went through weren’t the greatest. My social worker didn’t seem all that interested in what I wanted, just shoving me off to the next family. I ran away around my tenth birthday, attempting to live in the street by myself. Somehow I knew that couldn’t last forever, kids had to go to school until they were sixteen so between CPS and the truancy officer, I was caught and dumped in a group home.

The group home was the last place I wanted to be. Granted that was how every kid in that place felt. We all knew that it was a temporary holding until our eighteen birthday then we were out on our ass. Once I knew that I was staying in the home, I tried to make a go of it. Stay in school and keep my head down, but I kept finding myself in the wrong place and wrong time enough that I had a criminal record. Eventually, I dropped out getting my GED so that I could get a job to start saving money.

I had just turned eighteen when weird things started to happen to me. One day I got so angry with my roommate. She accused me of stealing money, which I hadn’t but she wouldn’t listen to reason. Soon we were both shouting at each other, red in the face when suddenly there was wind in the room, even though the door and all the windows were closed. Papers were blowing all around us and before I could comment my roommate was slammed against the wall. I hadn’t touched her, hadn’t moved at all. I couldn’t explain what had happened so I was thrown into the single room for about two weeks. I thought it was just a fluke but then I noticed when I was upset it rained when I was afraid it was windy, when I was angry things got set on fire. It started happening often enough that I knew that it was somehow my doing. If that wasn’t enough when my abilities began to manifest there felt like some part of me was missing. I had never felt that way before, I didn’t like it.

When I woke up in Cold Oak, South Dakota. I was so confused not that I had a chance to figure out why I was there. Nope, I barely had the chance to think before I had found a bunch of other people. When I saw Lucy and Hailey I got this jolt. Lucy stared right at me, while Hailey seemed more than a little preoccupied. It was easy to see that we had all grown up in different ways, though Hailey and I had our similarities. She was apparently some demon hunter and her family were well known. They were good, scary good and she was just like them. When she told us all it was a demon most people reacted like she was crazy. It was then I realized that maybe, just maybe there were things out there that actually worse than people.

Now, I could use what I learned on the street to my advantage. I already knew how to fire a gun and wield a knife. Hailey and Lucy taught me how to control my abilities, separate them from my emotions. Hailey and her friend Natasha taught me Latin, exorcisms and protection rites. I realized, and quickly so that there was an entire world out there that most people never even realized and now we were a part of it.

Together we were The Trinity, the only thing standing in the way between hell on earth. Somehow, against all the odds out there I was optimistic that we could actually do this. Hailey, on the other hand, didn’t look so sure. In fact, she looked completely terrified. If this scared someone who had grown up around all this shit, then this was going to be a lot more difficult than I thought.

**Lucy’s Point of View**

In the past few years, my life had changed so drastically. Once I was the prodigal daughter of a decorated politician. My family had money from multiple places, my siblings and I wanted for nothing, except my mother who had died when I was a baby. My father remarried, my step-mother was a lovely woman, but she never tried to replace my actual mom. Both talked about my biological mother often enough that I felt like I knew her.

My family and I were happy. I had my entire life mapped up. All my choices handed on a silver platter. The best boarding schools. The most prestigious Ivy League schools gunning for me. Sure I had a 4.3 GPA but they wanted the Senator’s daughter to go to their school. Then my stepmother died and my family’s life fell apart.

I watched my father become the shell of the man I knew. Instead of focusing on his children he made his political career his singular focus. Losing two wives won him the pity vote.  When my stepmom died, my relationship with my father did as well because we no longer had a buffer between us. With her gone, I was the one he focused on. The one who had to be perfect so I wouldn’t mess with his campaign. Like the Seattle voting public gave a shit about the comings and goings of an eighteen-year-old.

During the school year, I was in boarding school halfway across the country. I had just come back from class when my room got really cold. I nearly had a heart attack when I turned around and saw my mother sitting on my bed.

“Momma?” I whispered.

“Baby,” Mom smiled.

“You’re…”

“I’m so sorry, Lucy.”

“Momma, how can this be?”

“You’re going to be okay.”

“Momma!”

She had vanished just as quickly as she came to me. After that more and more spirits came to me, happy that someone could see them. I was wondering why my mom had apologized. It all made sense when I met Abby and Hailey. When Hailey said there were demons involved I realized that may be why my mom had been apologizing. But, why would my mom work with a demon? Did she know I was a part of the Trinity? That me, Hailey, and, Abby were the only people standing in the way of something unspeakable?

Honestly, I was glad I found them. We were all broken in some way. I never really felt like I belonged with my family. Hailey kept losing her loved ones, and Abby never really had a home. Together we were the Trinity. The fitting pieces to the puzzle. I knew that we could do what we were destined for but that didn’t mean we weren’t worried. Hell, Hailey looked terrified. Abby looked stubborn and I didn’t know how to feel.

**Hailey’s Point of View**

“Hailey, what is going on?” Aiden demanded.

“What are you talking about?”

After Missouri had dropped the bomb we had all wandered in different directions. I chose to stay in my room, knowing that I couldn’t handle my family’s questions. It looked like they couldn’t wait to question what was going on or at least Aiden couldn’t wait. Not that I could blame him, I’d be going out of my mind if this was happening to one of them.

“Don’t lie, Hailey.”

“Ads, you really don’t want to know.”

“If I’m asking I want to know. I’m going to find out eventually, you might as well tell me now.”

“I don’t want to fucking talk about it. That okay with you?”

“No, not really.”

“Aiden.”

“Hailey.”

“We’re the only thing that stands between the demons and hell on earth. That what you wanted to know? If one of us dies the worlds over. That’s it, the end.”

“That can’t be true. Come on, Hails. Maybe you’re one of the things standing in the way but you have to think there are blocks in place just in case the apocalypse actually happens.”

“If it happens it’s all of our faults. Abby, Lucy, and I…”

“Will do all you can. You’re putting too much pressure on yourself. You’re going to snap.”

“Stop it, Ads, that’s not true.”

“Oh, really. You haven’t been sleeping, you’ve read nearly every book possible to help Dean and his deal, you’re suddenly involved in this prophecy. If you’re not feeling the heat of all that there’s something wrong with you.”

“Thanks. That makes me feel awesome.”

“Don’t be so sensitive, Hay.”

I groaned and covered my face with my hands. I could feel Aiden’s eyes probing the situation and I rolled my eyes.

“Stop looking at me like that,” I complained.

I felt a hand on my arm and sighed. My bed shifted as Aiden sat down next to me. I moved from where I laid with my feet against the wall and turned so that my head was on Aiden’s thigh. One of his hands threaded its way through my hair. I closed my eyes and tried to shut off my mind. There wasn’t a moment that went by that my mind wasn’t pulling me in a thousand different directions. While it would work for a while, I couldn’t keep this up forever.

I growled in frustration as my eyes began to well with tears. Honestly, it had been years since I cried and now I was crying over every little thing. All it took was one tear that fell before the rest followed suit. Aiden, for his part, didn’t react much except for pulling me up so that I could breathe as I cried. I felt his arms wrap around me as I curled into his chest.

I don’t know how long we stayed like that. All I knew was that I woke up hours later while the sun began to rise. I blinked and rubbed my eyes. Aiden and I must’ve fallen asleep at some point. His arms were still around me, I shimmied out of his grip, which wasn’t all that hard to do since it had slackened from sleep. I moved quickly only putting on a sweatshirt as I quietly closed the door.

“I knew you’d be up.”

I whirled around my hand to my heart. It wasn’t all that often that someone snuck up on me.

“Why are you up?” I asked.

“Waiting for you. You didn’t come out after Missouri talked to you guys. I wanted to see what was up but Aiden beat me to the punch.”

“I hope you’re just using the saying and he didn’t actually punch you.”

“No, I wasn’t punched by your brother Now what are we going to do until everyone wakes up?”

I smiled wide at that walking towards him, “I got a few ideas.”

“Really and what might those be?”

I put a splayed hand against Darren’s chest pushing him right back into his room and kicking the door behind us. I shoved him on the bed, his hand came out grabbing my wrist so that I was lying flat on top of him. I grinned down at him giving him a kiss. I felt his fingers curl around my hair, setting it free from the ponytail holder as he kissed me, rolling over so that I was pinned between his body and the bed.

A gasp rushed from me as one of his hands brushed up my side and over one of my breasts. Even though the thick fabric of my sweatshirt I could feel everything. His head dropped down, teeth scraping against the fragile skin of my neck and I bit back another moan. I jumped when Darren’s hand snuck under my shirt causing a zing of pleasure to race through my body. I looked up at him, rising enough for the shirt to slip off leaving me exposed from the waist up. Darren growled with approval as he once again nipped my neck his arms wrapping around my back and pulling me closer to him.

Within the next few minutes, the last few scraps of clothing had been pulled off, thrown to the other side of the room as the passion escalated. Darren grabbed a condom from his duffel bag on the floor, rolling it on. I smirked up at him as he took a moment to look at me, his eyes slowly raking over every part of me. I blushed averting my gaze as he once again climbed on the bed. His hands were rubbing my sides as he kissed me softly.

Nearly an hour later, I lay in Darren’s arm, head on his chest as I listened to his heart beating. That was just amazing and I hoped that we were quiet because the last thing I needed was my brothers hearing me have sex. Because they were content to think I was still a virgin and I was perfectly happy letting them believe that.

“Hails?” Darren whispered his voice hoarse from sleep.

“Yeah?”

“We’re together right?”

“Uh, I hope so.”

“Good.”

I leaned over him digging in one of his jean’s pockets for his cell phone. I pulled it out and saw that it was nearly ten in the morning. I knew that my brothers would still be asleep but not for long and I really didn’t want them to see me sneaking out of a guy’s room. Once again that would be an awkward situation that could be completely avoided. I kissed Darren softly on the lips as I got dressed, pulling my hair into a messy bun as I slowly walked into the hallway and quietly closed the door.

I wandered out into the main hall looking around for any signs of life. Ash had once again fallen asleep on the pool table. I wondered whether it was because he had a little too much last night or because he was being a gentleman and giving Missouri his room. The problem was I couldn’t really tell, as was normally the case when it came to Ash. It was best not to assume things. I poured myself a cup of coffee as I set myself up near the barstools, doing some little idle research. When someone placed their hand on my shoulder I nearly sprayed coffee everywhere.

“You have a good night?” Jo teased.

“More or less.”

“Your lips are swollen.”

“I figured.”

“What are you reading?” Jo asked leaning over my shoulder to glance at the computer monitor, “Hails, you’ve been looking for loopholes in Dean’s deal for months…”

“I’m not giving up on my brother, Jojo.”

“That’s not what I’m saying I’m just worried about you. You’re all so sure that Dean’s going to get out of his deal but what if he doesn’t.”

“Then my family falls apart.”

“Hailey, come on,” Jo frowned.

“No, Jojo. You’ve seen us. Dean has always been the leader of our family if he’s gone, we’re done, it’s that simple. The one flaw in the way that Dad raised us or at least taught us how to function. We depend too much on each other. If we don’t get him out of this…I just don’t know.”

“Hailey, you and Sam, and Aiden are obsessing over this it’s not healthy.”

“It doesn’t matter. I owe him everything, Jo and I’m going to help him no matter what.”

Jo didn’t say much after that instead she chose to stay next to me, just keeping me company as I half researched and half drank my coffee. Even though I didn’t want to admit it the possibility that Dean’s deal wouldn’t be broken grew every single day. Every time we didn’t find some sort of loophole or answer our anxiousness for the situation grew just a little bit more.

I remembered that nearly a year ago, we were looking for dad. It seemed like an entire lifetime ago and yet it felt like just yesterday. I think it felt that way merely because we were using that same fervor that had when we were looking for Dad, for Dean because we couldn’t lose both patriarchs of our family and especially not Dean.  He only had one year and already nearly half of that was gone. As I once again reread _Dr. Faustus_ I realized that I was nineteen years old and that I had been nineteen for a while.

It wasn’t that we didn’t celebrate birthdays in my family. It was just that we didn’t go all out as most people did. Depending on whose birthday it was we got a few gifts and said birthday person got to choose what they wanted for dinner. Most of the time I went with Boston Market because that was something we couldn’t get all that often. I fought to remember if I had celebrated my birthday and I couldn’t for the life of me remember. It had been six months and then I realized. I was so strung out with grieving for Trevor that I had missed my own birthday. My brothers had given me new knives as well as a chicken dinner but other than that we didn’t really even mention it.

There was a lot of negative things that went with this life. People close to you die, you live on the fringes of society and there wasn’t a lot of contact with other people. My family and the people who had become my family were weird cases we weren’t solitary, we went to each other for help. Hell, I don’t think there was ever a time where my family really hunted solo, except for my father but he was a different story.

“Hay!” Aiden called his hand waving in front of my face, “Earth to Hailey. Come in, Hailey.”

“What do you want?” I grumbled.

“What made you go all space cadet? I’ve been calling you for three minutes.”

“I was just thinking.”

“Well, get the lead out. We’re packing up.”

“Where are we going?”

“Bobby’s,” Aiden answered over his shoulder. “He’s trying to rebuild the Colt.”

I slammed my computer closed as I hopped off the bar stool. If Bobby could rebuild the Colt that changed everything. The Colt could kill anything including hell hounds or the demon that held Dean’s deal in the first place. I rushed through the hallway to my room, my computer under my arm as I stormed into my room throwing my duffel bags on top of my bed as I packed everything of mine in sight.

“Whoa, what’s going on?” Darren asked going from leaning against my door to walking inside my room.

“We’re leaving,” I said. “Bobby Singer called for us.”

“Oh,” Darren said.

I looked up realizing that there was still a small part of that wanted to stay with Darren and my heart sank just a little before I set myself straight. The only thing that mattered was getting Dean out of this deal. Nothing else did, not Darren and I, as much as I really did like him, not Lucy and Abby, no matter how close we had gotten. My loyalty first and foremost would always be towards my family especially when it was Dean. Dean, who had sacrificed everything for Sam, Aiden, and I. He was the last person who deserved to go to hell and the only reason why he had to because of that deal he made to save Sam’s life.

“Hailey?” Darren called.

“I’m sorry,” I choked.

“Hails, what is it?” Darren questioned closing the distance between us so that he could hug me.

I was fine. Really, I was until Darren touched me and then I shattered like a baseball hitting a windowpane. Darren went from being slightly concerned to being completely worried. In all the years that I had known him, I don’t think he had once seen me cry, not even when I dislocated my shoulder on a hunt we were on together.

“Dean made a deal and there are only a few months left on it.”

“Hay, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

“I want to stay with you but I can’t. I need to help Dean. I have to.”

“I understand. It’s going to be okay.”

I nodded to myself as I felt Darren lift my head up as he wiped my tears away with the pads of his thumbs before kissing me. I melted into his embrace and calmed down considerably. When we pulled away I smiled shakily up at him.

“Hay, let’s go!” Aiden called.

“That’s my cue,” I sighed.

Darren gave me a small smirk before he reached around me grabbing both my duffel bags before kissing me again. I walked by his side saying goodbye to Missouri, Jo, Ellen, Lucy, Abby, and Ash. Darren placed my duffel bags into the trunk of the impala and I gave him one more kiss goodbye. I climbed into the back and together with my brothers and I drove towards Sioux Falls.

It was nearly nine at night by the time we got to Bobby’s house but all the lights in the house were on. I grabbed my overnight duffel as we walked up to Bobby’s porch. The door swung open as Bobby ushered us inside. We dropped our duffels in the front entrance as Bobby led us straight back towards the kitchen.

My stomach gurgled coming alive and informing me that the only thing I had all day was coffee, skittles, and pop tarts. Bobby put out five plates of chicken parmesan. We dug in quickly and I could feel Bobby watching us. I looked up and found his eyes on mine. I flushed and dug back into my food as I tried to ignore that Bobby probably knew just how ragged we were pushing ourselves.

After dinner, I made my way upstairs collapsing on the bed. I was happy because I once again got the bed all to myself, although, I did share a room with Aiden though. I fell asleep almost the second my head hit the pillow. When I woke up it was late. Later, then I had slept in god knows how long. The smell of strong coffee and pancakes floated up to the stairs, through the wide-open door. I got up walking towards the stairs, I was just about to hit the first creaky step when I heard Bobby and Dean talking, I stopped instantly listening intently.

“Damn it, Dean,” Bobby fumed. “Do you have that low of an opinion of yourself? Are you that screwed in the head?”

“I couldn’t let him die, Bobby,” Dean whispered. “He’s my brother.”

“How are your brothers and sister going to feel if they can’t save you?”

“They’ll be fine.”

“Really? Have you not seen them? I swear every damn time I see your sister, she’s lost weight. None of them look like they’ve been sleeping and you’re still here.”

“They’ll be fine.”

“Boy, you think whatever you need to. But, if you go down the pit the last thing they’ll be is fine.”

I began to head down the stairs after I made sure that the conversation had over. I didn’t know whether or not I could really appreciate Bobby talking to Dean about that because the last thing he needed right now was to be worried about us. He should start worrying about himself. But, Bobby was as much a part of the family as Ellen or anyone else and he’d miss Dean just as much as all of us. It was also a little late for guilt and it’s not like it would do much guilt. We needed Sam too. In order for the Winchester family to function all Winchester offspring had to be accounted for in some form or another.

+

“This is one of the worst ideas I have ever heard of!” Lucy snapped.

“Way to be supportive, Luce,” I frowned at my cell phone.

“Don’t put that on me, Hailey Winchester. You’re going to summon some demon because she told you that she could help with your brother's deal? What makes you think that some demon knows about Dean’s deal more than you? Has found something you haven’t?”

“We’re running out of options, Lucy. We don’t have time!”

“Bobby hasn’t figured out the Colt yet? I thought he had it.”

“He didn’t. This is getting impossible.”

“I’m sorry, Hails. I don’t think trusting a demon now is really the best idea.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Just think about it, Hails, okay? There’s gotta be another way.”

“I don’t think so and I have thought about it. Nothing bad will happen.”

“Just be careful.”

“You too.”

I disconnected the line and glanced toward Bobby’s barn. It would be the perfect place for the summoning ritual I was going to perform. I glanced into the kitchen, looking through it and into the study where my brothers and Bobby were steadily working either researching or trying to figure out the Colt. Like they didn’t already know the damn thing backward and forwards, it wasn’t going to work but the way they were focusing on it was getting ridiculous.

There were some positives of all that focus. For one they were so focused on that damn gun that they missed the fact that I smuggled out some books from Bobby’s library. I snuck into the barn after lunch knowing that there would be a couple of hours at least until dinner allowing me to do what I needed. I traced the necessary sigil on the ground in chalk before lighting a candle at all five points of the design before I began to chant in Latin and lit the match. When I finished saying the end of the incantation I dropped the match in the concoction jumping back as it flared up. The creaking of the barn, which was creepy on its best day, seemed all the creepier now.

“There’s something called a phone,” Ruby called leaning against the since abandoned horse stalls.

“Who holds my brother’s contract?” I demanded.

“Straight to the point,” Ruby smirked, “I like that. But, if that’s all you wanted to know, you wasted your time. I don’t know.”

“You’re lying.”

“And?”

“You said all I needed to do was trust you and you’d help me save my brother. Tell me who holds the contract.”

“Or what?”

The entire time I had been walking towards Ruby backing her up until she was exactly where I wanted her, in a Devil’s trap.  She was completely stuck and she didn’t even know it.

“Or, I’ll exorcise you.”

Ruby tried to move then and when she couldn’t she looked up, “Hailey.”

“Got ya. Now, I have to say that I don’t trust you at all. Not even a little and here’s my deal. You tell me who holds Dean’s contract and I won’t send you straight to hell.”

Ruby glowered at me for a few minutes before answering, “You’re not ready to go after a demon like that.”

“I don’t care.”

“You and your brothers run in there half-cocked and they’ll peel the flesh from your faces.”

“I don’t care.”

“If you die the world goes to hell. Are you that selfish?”

“Shut the fuck up.”

“What’s wrong, Hailey Afraid of the truth.”

“Listen to me, you fucking hell bitch. My brother’s set to go to hell in four months and I don’t care who or what I have to kill to make sure that doesn’t happen. Now are you going to be helpful or do you wanna go back to hell?”

Ruby looked at me an eyebrow raised as her arms were crossed over her chest. I shook my head before looking her directly in the eye and tossing a mixture of Holy Water and salt in her face. She recoiled growling and writhing as she tried to get it off.

“Exorcizamus te, omnis immundus spiritus, omnis satanica potestas.”

“Wait!”

“Omnis incursio infernalis adversarii, omnis legio, omnis congregatio, et secta diabolica. Perditionis venenum propinare. Vade, satana, inventor et magister omnis fallaciae, hostis humanae salutis. Humiliare sub potenti manu dei, contremisce et effuge, invocato a nobis sancto et terribili nomine, quem inferi tremunt,” I continued unfazed as I watched Ruby crumble to her knees in pain as her body twitched and shook.

“Lilith!” Ruby sobbed finally, her teeth were gnashed together and her eyes were watering.

“What?”

“The demon’s name is Lilith.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?”

“I _am_!”

“You better be.”

“You shouldn’t go after her.”

“Why not?”

“She wants Sam dead. Sees him as competition.”

“What the fuck is going on?” Another voice barked

I jumped turning on my heel and groaning.

“Hi, Ads,” I sighed.

“What the fuck is going on?” Aiden repeated glaring at me. Both his tone and look would usually be enough to have me spill what was going on but I wasn’t sure that it was a very good idea. _“Hailey.”_

“Interrogating a demon,” I muttered.

“Excuse me?” Aiden demanded. “You’re doing what?”

“Questioning her, Aiden,” I retorted. “Trying to figure out what holds Dean’s contract and I did.”

“How did it get here?”

“Summoned her.”

“You summoned a demon on Bobby’s property?”

“What else can we do, Aiden? You figure out how to break Dean’s deal? Because I haven’t and this was my idea.”

“An idea that you didn’t run by any of us?”

“You were busy.”

“Nice cop-out, Hails.”

“What else am I supposed to do?”

“You’re going to trust a demon? Hailey, what the hell is wrong with you?”

“What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? We only have months and you’re all gathering around that damn gun like it’s the second coming!”

“He wouldn’t agree with this.”

“You’re going to tell him?”

“I have no choice. How else are we going to explain how we suddenly know who holds the contract? Do you have any idea how dangerous this all was?”

“I don’t care! Ads, we have the information and it wasn’t any more dangerous than summoning the crossroads demon.”

“You were thinking about summoning the crossroads demon?”

I shrugged and looked at the ground, wincing when I heard the sudden clomp of footsteps on the edge of the barn. The door creaked open announcing someone’s presence. So much for a plan that I could do what I needed to without being disturbed.

“What’s going on?” Sam asked. He was glaring at Aiden and me and then he saw Ruby, “What are you doing here?”

“Ask her,” Ruby growled at the same time Aiden hissed, “You know her?”

“Hailey?” Sam asked ignoring Aiden’s question.

“You know why,” I stated.

“Oh, that’s nice,” Aiden snarked. “Anyone wanna clue me in?”

“You know this little family squabble is entertaining, don’t get me wrong,” Ruby grumbled. “But can I go now?”

“You summoned Ruby?” Sam questioned.

“Obviously,” I rolled my eyes gesturing towards Ruby.

“You’re on a first-name basis with some hell bitch?” Aiden demanded.

“Nice,” Ruby complained.

“You’re overreacting, Aiden,” I sighed.

Without losing eye contact I snapped the beams thereby breaking the Devil’s trap. Ruby vanished on the spot leaving me with two highly irritated and incredibly irritating brothers. I frowned as I glanced between Aiden and Sam, both of whom were angry for different reasons.

“What the hell is going on?” Aiden snapped.

“I got the name of who holds Dean’s contract,” I announced.

“Through a demon,” Sam grumbled.

Like that demon wasn’t stringing you along in Cicero!” I retorted. “Don’t patronize me, Sam.”

“I didn’t just summon her on a whim!” Sam growled.

“I didn’t summon her on a whim, Sam,” I hissed. “I’m not some damn amateur.”

“Does someone wanna clarify exactly how you know her?” Aiden suggested.

“She saved our asses back in Lincoln,” I said.

“That masked chick?” Aiden replied. “She’s a demon.”

“Yeah,” Sam answered.

“You mentioned Cicero?” Aiden questioned.

“She met us at the local diner,” I shrugged.

“You didn’t feel like telling us?” Aiden hissed.

“Didn’t feel like telling us what?”  Dean asked coolly.

We all spun, in turn, seeing that Dean was entering the barn, his eyes roaming everywhere There were a few things that I rather him not find and of course, he found the sigil, the Devil’s trap, and all three of us looking highly suspicious. With each one Dean’s eyes grew flintier and flintier until he looked like he was going to kill us. That was really a possibility because the only thing Dean approved of us doing concerning his deal was the Colt but I wasn’t going to sit idly by and watch my big brother go to hell.

“I’m hurt,” Dean growled, his voice a raspy growl and his eyes glinting dangerously, “you guys decided to have a party and you didn’t invite me?”

“Dean,” Sam started.

“What are you guys doing in here?” Dean asked.

Aiden, Sam, and I exchanged a few glances before Sam answered, “Nothing.”

“Yeah, right,” Dean rolled his eyes, “because you all went to the barn at staggered times for no apparent reason.”

I bit back a curse, forgetting one crucial thing which, was even when it looked like my brothers looked like they completely distracted they normally weren’t. Dean looked at each of us in turn before his eyes settled on mine.

“Aiden, Sam, leave,” Dean ordered sharply.

Sam and Aiden didn’t say a word to contradict the order as they moved quickly out of the barn leaving Dean and me alone. He looked up at the broken Devil’s trap on the ceiling as well as the sigil. I couldn’t help but take an uneasy step backward as Dean’s look became all the more furious.

“Dean, you have to understand.”

“Understand what?  That you’ve been sneaking around for days, snagging books out of Bobby’s library. Books that have the same theme: summoning rituals. Exactly what have you been up to?”

“I’ve been trying to find a way to get you out of your deal.”

“The Colt?”

“What?  You’re just going to shoot every demon? I found the demon that holds your contract.”

“I don’t care what you found What did you summon?”

“An acquaintance.”

“Hailey,” Dean warned.

“It isn’t what you’re thinking, Dean,” I sighed.

“I’m thinking if you don’t start spilling your guts, you and I are going to be having some problems, Hailey. Who or should I say what did you summon here?”

“A demon.”

I winced, god that sounded horrible. Hi, I’m Hailey Winchester, I hunt evil and yet I just summoned a demon for help. Maybe Sam, Aiden, and Lucy were right, I shouldn’t have summoned Ruby and I was foolish for thinking that things would be okay or would even work out. I had broken the one major rule of hunting, you don’t befriend demons and you certainly don’t listen to them even when one looked to be on our side for once. The truth was with every day that passed now I was getting more desperate. And the more desperate I got the sloppier I became.

“Excuse me?” Dean’s eyebrow shot up in surprise before slamming back down to create what one could only describe as a mask of cold fury.

“She said she knew how to save you.”

“You believed her? Hailey, you have to know she’s lying. She knows what your weakness is.”

“It doesn’t matter!”

_“What?”_

“You don’t wanna go to hell and we’re not going to let you so if I find the name of the demon holding the contract then that’s one more step to our mutual goal.”

“What you did was reckless.”

“I don’t care. You’d be doing the same thing for me if things were reversed. Hell, you’d be doing a hell of a lot more than just focusing on some gun.”

“You get one of these ideas again, you tell us, don’t sneak around.”

“Yes, Dean.”

“Come on, Bobby has dinner going.”

Dean and I walked back into the house where Bobby was standing, waiting for water to boil. Bobby glanced up at me as I walked back giving me a stern disapproving look. I hung my head as I walked back into the den. I slumped onto the couch as Aiden handed me my computer and I began to scour the online newspapers. I had been doing that for a few minutes when my phone began to ring, in and of itself the event wouldn’t be too out of the ordinary but when my brother's cell phone preceded to go off right after mine, that was a little suspicious.

“Winchester,” I answered.

“Hailey, we need help,” Jo said cutting to the chase.

“What is it?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”

“I was on a hunt with Abby and Lucy,” Jo explained. “And the thing took Lucy.”

“Jo, what were you hunting?” I questioned.

“Wendigo,” Jo sighed.

“You took two newbie’s out to hunt a Wendigo?” I hissed.

“We thought there was only one,” Jo said, “But, Hails, there’s three of them.”

“Three?” I gasped. “Jo, where are you?”

“Rhinelander, Wisconsin,” Jo replied.

“We’ll be there as soon as possible,” I stated.

The line disconnected and I looked up at my brothers who had disconnected their own line.

“Where is she, Hailey?” Sam asked.

“Rhinelander, Wisconsin, up by the mountains,” I replied.

“Hey, Bobby, we have to go!” Dean shouted.

“You’re not leaving on empty stomachs,” Bobby said sternly.

“Bobby, Lucy’s missing,” I protested. “We have to go.”

“It’s going to take about a day to get there you can leave after you all had some dinner,” Bobby ordered.

“Okay, everyone pack up and then meets down here for dinner in five,” Dean said.

We all dispersed walking upstairs and packing as quickly as we all could. Luckily being a Winchester taught you how to back in under three minutes, packing only the essentials, especially when we were pressed for time, like if the law had tracked us down.

I galloped back downstairs with my two duffel bags in tow. I dropped them near the foyer as Aiden came down next and then Sam and Dean. Bobby had five big bowls of beef stew. I sat down in my place and waited for Aiden, Sam, Dean, and Bobby to sit down. We ate quickly enjoying our company with Bobby; making idle small talk that for once didn’t mention any demons, Dean’s deal or the colt.

When it was time to go I hugged Bobby and waited while all my brothers said goodbye. We agreed that we’d head back there after we helped the out Jo, Lucy, and Abby. We loaded up the car and moved out heading towards Wisconsin as fast as we could. As the miles blurred together, I fell asleep.

_Do you know the feeling of going into the pool with your clothes on? The way they just stuck to your skin, it was the same sensation except it wasn’t water. It was blood and a lot of it pooling from multiple cuts the worst one was running down the length of my leg and it hurt so much. Only I didn’t know what hurt more the jagged scratch on my leg or the fact that my arms were holding my weight tied together above my head._

_Everything came back slowly, first was the pain, then there was the fact that I couldn’t see and then it was the low rasping growl that sent shivers up my spine. As the Wendigo crept closer I fought to move out of my bonds but nothing gave._

_The reflection, I saw in the Wendigoes gaze wasn’t mine. It was Lucy and I watched horrified as Lucy began to scream, tears running down her face, mixing the dirt and blood on her cheeks…_

“Hailey!” Aiden shouted shaking. “Come on, Hay, wake up!”

“Ads you yelling at her isn’t going to help,” Sam protested.

“Hay, you’re okay,” Aiden soothed.

“No,” I whispered. “Please, Dean, drive faster.”

“We’re ten minutes away,” Dean replied. “Jo texted us the name of their motel.”

I nodded to myself, pulling my knees up to my chest. I caught the concerned glances that Aiden and the others threw my way or towards each other and fought to ignore them. I knew sooner or later that I’d have to tell them everything we knew about the Trinity because it was important but not at this present moment it wasn’t. How was I supposed to explain to them that Lucy had must likely be tapped into our connection making me see what she was going through? I wondered if she could feel Abby and me there: if it brought comfort to her at all.

We were barely in the parking lot of The Black Raven Motel when Abby and Jo raced out of the motel room. In all my months of knowing Abby, I had never seen her looking so frantic.

“Did you see?” Abby demanded.

“Yeah,” I sighed.

“See what?” Dean asked curiously.

“We saw her,” I said. “The Wendigo has Lucy and she’s terrified.”

“The sun’s coming up in about an hour,” Dean stated pitching his voice so that everyone could hear him. “I saw we head over to the mountain range and start looking. Sam and I will take one direction, Aiden and Jo will take another, and that leaves Abby and Hailey with the other direction. I’m willing to bet it will be you two that finds her since you’re all attuned to each other now or something.”

Abby and I exchanged startled glances. How did he know that? Dean shot me a smirk as he gestured for us to get in the car. The impala led the way to the mountain range, which was about ten minutes away from the hotel. We all were armed to the teeth with homemade firebombs; except for Abby she really didn’t need one.

We all walked into the mountain range following each other until Dean gestured which way we should all go. I fought down some nervous energy, remembering how much I really hated Wendigoes. They were once human but when they ate human flesh it changed them. They were immortal but they needed more flesh to survive. They changed during times of famine or when it was really cold and they ran out of food like the Donner Party for instance. A Wendigo had very sharp teeth and nails; one swipe of their claws could decapitate a person. They were fast too, faster than anything or anyone. They were the best hunters I had ever seen but they were evil and the only way to kill them was fire.

“Do you sense anything?” Abby whispered after searching quietly for nearly an hour.

“No,” I sighed and then I heard something. “Wait.”

“What is it?” Abby hissed.

“There’s something following us,” I groaned.

“What do we do?” Abby asked.

I shrugged not really knowing what we could do. When we heard the growling get closer, I shouted run and we turned tail and ran in the opposite direction of the noise. I pushed Abby before me knowing that the was nothing I could do to stop the Wendigo from capturing us. When a fireball flew by my head I realized that I was wrong. Abby was an elemental and I had telekinesis. When I saw that the Wendigo was leading us straight to another one I skidded to a halt, grabbing Abby’s arm. She focused on the one in front of us as I faced off against the one who had been chasing us. I pushed it back but it moved faster than I anticipated, lunging forward and catching me in the side with its razor-sharp claws. Blood immediately gushed from the wound as the Wendigo smirked at me with blood-flecked lips. I heard the whoosh of a flame and ducked seconds before it would’ve incinerated me catching the Wendigo in the stomach. The other one was already ash.

“Oh, my god, Hails,” Abby, hissed. She pulled off her sweatshirt and shook it at me. I grabbed it from her wincing as I put pressure on the wound. It was pretty deep if the way I was bleeding was anything to go by.

“I’m fine,” I sighed.

“Bullshit,” Abby snapped.

“We have to find Lucy,” I retorted, “and until we do I’m fine.”

“You’re too fucking stubborn Winchester,” Abby shook her head as she put one of my arms over her shoulder and together we began to move.

“Help me!” We heard the shout and ran quickly in the direction of it Wendigoes knew how to survive. They especially knew how to survive during the winter. The only reason why someone would be alive was that the Wendigo was saving them for later, snacking on them whenever they wanted too.

We ran until there we saw an opening in the mountain. It was the perfect dwelling for a Wendigo and it was exactly where the screams were coming from. Already at the mouth of the cave were Aiden, Jo, Sam, and Dean.

“Hay!” Aiden shouted.

Sam and Dean swiveled around taking in my most likely paler than normal complexion and the blood-soaked sweatshirt that was clutched to my side. Dean shoved Sam and Aiden towards the mouth of the cave to get to Lucy while he came to my side.

“Hails?” Dean whispered, “you okay?”

“Wendigo got the drop on me,” I frowned. “I’m fine.”

“She lost a lot of blood,” Abby corrected.

"Oh my god, Luce” I hissed.

Dean and Abby turned and looked as Aiden carried Lucy bridal style out of the cave. She looked mostly unscathed except for her leg. But she was alert and looking at all of us as Aiden brought her down to the landing the rest of us were on.

“Hey, Lucy,” Abby grinned.

“Hey,” Lucy smiled. “You get those bastards?”

“Yup,” I smirked. “They never stood a chance.”

“Looks like one got you good,” Lucy noted.

“I could say the same about you,” I retorted lightly.

“Can we save this reunion for later?” Sam asked. “You two need a hospital.”

“Lucy can go to a hospital,” I replied. “I’m not.”

“Hailey,” Dean warned.

“I’ve had a lot worse and you know that, Dean,” I responded. “So no.”

“Fine,” Dean said.

“What?” Aiden demanded. “She’s lost a lot of blood. They both have.”

“We’re still conscious,” I retorted.

“If we’re going to do this can we do this?” Sam sighed.

“Sam’s right,” Dean said. “What do you wanna do, Luce?”

“Hospital,” Lucy replied.

“We’ll bring her there,” Jo said. “You guys worry about Hailey.”

Abby gently moved out from under me as Dean held me up being careful to avoid my injured side. Although the move was hardly jarring I still let out a gasp as fire raced up and down my side. I hate Wendigoes. Aiden and Dean carried Lucy and me through the forest walking quickly until we got to where we had all parked. I was laid gently in the backseat of the impala with the strict order not to get blood on the upholstery while Dean and Aiden helped Lucy get into Jo’s car.

A few minutes later the cars split up, us going back towards the hotel while Jo floored it towards town. Most people would probably choose to go to the hospital with wounds this bad. But, I trusted my brothers with my life and if there was anyone I’d be willing to patch me up it was them. Besides these cuts needed not only rubbing alcohol but also Holy Water because something evil had scratched me. The fun times of being a Supernatural hunter. When we got the motel Aiden helped me out carrying me through the door and placing me gently on the bed.

I was still conscious but it was more out of sheer will power than anything else. The one thing that I was happy about was the fact that the Wendigo had swung his claws low enough so that I would still be able to wear my bra and panties because wearing anything less around my brothers was just awkward. Aiden helped me up once again as Dean cut me out of my shirt, the Wendigo had destroyed it so it really wasn’t a loss while Sam helped me out of my jeans.

I was laid carefully down on my side on the bed as Aiden got up behind me ready to hold me down because if you think rubbing alcohol stings, Holy Water is ten times worse especially after you’ve been hurt by something evil, which was the only reason why they were necessary in the first place. Aiden used the shirt that Dean had ripped off to place it near my mouth. I bit down on it and squeezed Aiden’s wrists as Dean and Sam worked carefully and quickly to clean out the scratches, there were only two of them. It could’ve been much worse.

“I’m sorry, Hails,” Dean whispered. “You’ve lost too much blood for us to give you pain pills just yet.”

I nodded carefully and steeled myself for the first stitch. After the one more followed as I fought to stay still. Honestly, it was hard and it hurt a lot. Tears streamed out of my eyes and into my hair as I struggled not to thrash.

_And then just like that, I wasn’t in that motel room but somewhere else ten years ago. It was so weird when I was eight I knew that we weren’t a normal family. I mean honestly, we had a new home every few weeks and it was considered a luxury if we got an apartment. I had been to countless schools already and I knew that at the rate this was going I would still be going to even more schools before I eventually graduated or got my GED, which was the route that both Dean and I decided to take. Hell, I think the only reason that Dad kept enrolling Dean in school was so he could watch out for Sam since Aiden was watching out for me._

_What really tipped me off about not being a normal family was the fact that Dad was normally ever here and sometimes he and Dean went places leaving Sammy or a handful of other Aunts of Uncles in charge. We were currently staying in an apartment in West Branch, Michigan and this was one of those times where Dad and Dean were gone and had been gone for days._

_It was around one in the morning, way past my bedtime that was normally strictly enforced if Dean was home but Sam was studying too much to pay attention especially if I kept quiet. I had crept into the kitchen for a glass of milk when the front door slammed open. I was so startled I nearly dropped my milk but set it back on the counter as I closed the refrigerator door._

_“You’re late,” Sam accused._

_“Not now, Sam, can’t you see your brother's hurt?” Dad retorted sharply_

_Dean was hurt? Why was he hurt? Personally, I thought that was a great question but it wasn’t really one I could ask, especially now that both Dad and Dean were home and I was really supposed to be in bed._

_“What happened?” Sam demanded._

_“Wendigo,” Dad said shortly helping Dean over to the couch we had rented. I was watching through the door in the kitchen._

_“Jesus Christ, Dad,” Sam growled. “Why isn’t he in a hospital?”_

_“There are claw marks running the length of your brother’s spine, Sam…”_

_“Exactly!” Sam retorted. “Do you know how much blood he probably lost?”_

_“Sammy, that’s enough,” Dad snapped. “I can handle it.”_

_“Would you two cut it out?” Dean growled._

_As the lights turned on I screamed despite myself, completely forgetting that I was supposed to be hiding. Dad and Sam swiveled around both looking at me dumbstruck but I was staring at Dean’s back. His shirt was ribbons and covered in blood, his blood. He barely reacted with the scream either._

_“Hailey Jade Winchester,” Dad scolded, his voice was cold as ice and it would normally scare me into obedience but not this time._

_“Is Dean dead?” I whimpered, my eyes filling with tears._

_“No, baby,” Dad sighed._

_Dad closed the distance between us in two large strides stooping down to my level._

_“Dean just had an accident, honey,” Dad whispered. “He’s going to be good as new….”_

_“Bullshit,” Sam snarled._

_“Samuel,” Dad barked. “Take your sister and get out of here. Both of you get to bed. And, you better believe that you and I will be having a conversation about that attitude, boy.”_

_“Yes, sir.” Sam sighed sounding a little more mollified than he had a few minutes ago._

_That was one of the first instances when I realized that my family wasn’t only not normal but that my Dad wasn’t some salesman that had to go away a lot. Nope, I wasn’t believing that anymore. The claw marks that were deep and jagged in Dean’s back stayed in my memory for a very long time and so did what Dad had held responsible for it…a Wendigo. It was another year and a half before Dad finally broke the news to me. That he was a hunter and he was going after the thing that killed Mom and that he made sure that what happened to us never happened to other people._

_My father was a hero but that did little to soften the blow that was his absenteeism due to what he chose to do. The bad thing was that Dad had thought he had broken the news to me about hunting but the truth was that I had found out by myself a few weeks after that incident, breaking into Dad’s room and reading his journal as he slept. I had snuck out way before Dad woke up and had confronted Aiden who swore me to secrecy as he told me everything he knew._

_Dean wasn’t the same after that night either. Granted, it took at least a  month for his back to heal but after that night he became more determined. When I realized the truth about what happened to Mom, I knew his loyalty to the crusade was what kept him by Dad’s side, watching out and being a father to us, but that Wendigo attack gave him his determination._

“Hails, we’re all done, baby,” Dean whispered jogging me out of my memories. “I know you’re sleepy but just stand up for one second so we can wrap your rips so you don’t tear your stitches.”

I stood up on shaky legs as Aiden stood behind me, ready to catch me in case my legs gave out. Dean moved quickly wrapping my side in a giant ace bandage. It was a little on the snug side but I was too tired to complain. They helped me into a baggy shirt that had most likely been one of theirs before helping me back into bed. I felt Dean sit down on the other side of the bed humming under his breath as I fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next morning the first thing I did was pop a couple of Vicodin as my side protested the movement. My muscles were stiff from not moving and I was tired as hell despite sleeping the better part of a day and a half. I was up before my brothers, which was part of the reason why I was able to walk around without an escort. I moved into the shower and showered quickly pulling my hair up into a ponytail as I slipped into one of my looser pairs of jeans and a sweatshirt.

“You’re supposed to be taking it easy,” Jo scolded.

“I’m fine, Jojo,” I responded.

“Darren wanted you to call him,” Jo shrugged dropping the conversation. “Boy’s been calling every couple of hours.”

“You told him?” I demanded.

“No, Abby did,” Jo corrected.

I rolled my eyes as I snagged my phone from the nightstand walking stiffly outside into the cool morning. I hit the most recent calls, unsurprised when Darren’s name was at the top of the calling list.

“Hails?” Darren demanded.

“I’m fine, Dare,” I soothed.

“Yeah,” Darren scoffed. “That’s not what Abby said.”

“Abby’s new to all of this,” I replied. “I’m fine. I’ve had worse. I’m just a little sore is all. Lucy was worse off than me.”

“Don’t scare me like that,” Darren grumbled.

“I’m sorry,” I sighed.

“It’s okay,” Darren said. “When do you think we can see each other?”

“I don’t know, Darren,” I frowned. “We’re getting down to the wire on Dean’s deal there’s a little more than three months on it.”

“I know, baby,” Darren whispered. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” I responded. “Look, I’ll call you later. Okay?”

“Okay, I’m heading towards Chicago to deal with a poltergeist call me later tonight,” Darren suggested.

“Okay,” I replied.

We disconnected the line as I went back inside the motel room where people were starting to wake up. Dean was the first awake other than Jo and I. He then woke everyone else up saying that it was time to check out and that we, meaning my brothers and I was going to stop in to see Lucy before we headed back towards Bobby who had apparently called the other day saying that he got the gun to work.

Dean once again led the charge towards the hospital and we all shuffled into the waiting room. My brothers and Jo sat down, letting Abby and I visit with Lucy first. We walked in and she was wide-awake. Her hair was put in a neat bun on the nape of her neck as she watched the news. When she saw us her smile brightened and it was almost possible to forget that we were in the hospital.

“Hey, Luce,” I smiled.

“How are you?” Abby asked.

“I’m fine,” Lucy grinned. “Honestly I just want to get out of here.”

“You okay?” I asked noticing that Lucy’s smiled faltered for a fraction of a second.

“Yeah of course,” Lucy shrugged.

“Don’t bullshit us, Luce,” Abby scolded. “We know you better than that.”

“I don’t like hospitals,” Lucy whispered. “A lot of good people have died here.”

“Oh, Lucy,” I gasped.

“Guys, I…I don’t want to go to hospitals anymore,” Lucy hung her head.

“We’re not going to force you too,” Abby soothed. “Unless it’s something we can’t handle by ourselves.”

“Okay,” Lucy nodded.

“What else is there?” I asked.

“That Wendigo could’ve killed me,” Lucy whimpered. “I could’ve screwed the entire world just because of some beginner's mistake.”

“Lucy,” I sighed. “It’s okay.”

“No,” Lucy retorted sharply. “It’s not. We all have to be more careful.”

“We will,” Abby and I chorused.

“Come on, Lucy,” I grinned. “You’re still learning but you’re a natural. Don’t worry about it.”

“Hiya Luce,” Dean greeted. “You feeling okay?”

“Never better, Dean,” Lucy smirked.

“That’s what I like to hear,” Dean nodded. “I’m sorry to cut this short ladies. But we’re due back at Bobby’s by nightfall.”

“Call us?” Abby and Lucy asked at the same time.

“Of course,” I answered.

“Dean?” Abby called.

“Yeah?” Dean questioned.

“I know that everything’s coming to a head soon and you don’t know us very well but we want to help you out,” Abby said.

“We’ll call you,” Dean replied.

I watched my brother carefully noticing that while he was smiling it didn’t quite reach his eyes. What exactly was Dean planning? If he didn’t want Lucy and Abby that was one thing. They were still relatively new to all of this. Too new to be going up against a demon like Lilith but I wondered vaguely if he was going to try to bench us all. Looks like I needed to talk to Aiden and Sam. Because I’d be damned if Dean tried to fix this whole mess by himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Finally moving over to Ao3


End file.
